The Hearts of Those Left Standing
by BasketballIsFun
Summary: The world is in utter chaos as the Avengers attempt to minimize and eventually reverse the effects of Thanos's genocidal act. The group works their way through the regret and pain they feel with the ones they've lost. Meanwhile, Scott Lang and Hope Van Dyne find themselves in a pickle as they look for a way back into the battle. *IW and AMATW SPOILERS* Rights belong to Marvel. *AU*
1. Defeat

Tony Stark sat down with a look of despair in his eyes, having not moved after witnessing his protégé Peter Parker beg for his life repeatedly, before he had faded away into nothing like the rest of the hastily put together team that had sparred with him here on Titan. The young Spider-Man's final expression as he apologized for his shortcomings was engraved within his mind, he knew it would be for the rest of his life. Tony fought back the emotions and tears that threatened to come, though he was unsure why, given that the only other living being within proximity was the blue robot-like lady, seemingly almost devoid of flesh.

His thoughts turned to the battle they had just lost, as he replayed the events that led to their defeat. First, the tactical teamwork and utilization of everyone to their strengths seemed to give them a slight upper hand against Thanos, though Tony knew now that the Titan likely could've ended the desperate skirmish before it had even begun. It was like he wanted a fight…

But they had miraculously managed subdue him with the Mantis creature, and in the moment, he had wanted to give Quill, the plucky man from Missouri who had created a life for himself in space, his props for succeeding. He and Parker pulled at the gauntlet with all their might, and they were oh so close, until the self-proclaimed Star-Lord had unraveled his own plan by hitting the Titan's face with his gun. Stark closed his fist shakingly, trying and failing to contain his anger.

Why couldn't Quill just wait a few more seconds once the gauntlet was off? Couldn't he have at least fired his plasma gun instead of slapping off Mantis's grip? Still, Tony knew why he did it, drawing parallels to his own experience two years prior, in his effort to blow apart Bucky Barnes, blinded by his rage. But he still felt anger, given the circumstances with half the universe at stake this time, compared to the Avengers' petty Civil War over superhero regulations when he had lost control. Whether it was rational or not…

"Terran," the blue lady spoke, her voice cold. Tony snapped back to reality, his eyes meeting hers. "You've been sitting there for the past thirty minutes."

He studied the woman, the cold and calculating look in her eye, her body appearing to be augmented by some sort of metal, unsure what to make of her. He swallowed hard, his mind still tormenting him of his brief mano a mano with Thanos. When she realized he wasn't going to say anything, she shifted gears.

"Who was the boy?" she asked more quietly, her voice seeming to muster as much empathy as she could. "The one who you held?"

He sighed, knowing he shouldn't keep up the silent treatment, so that he wouldn't alienate his final potential ally on the planet, but it hurt to even _think_ about the demise that had befallen Parker, much less discuss it with this unpredictable stranger. Still, he knew he had to give some form of answer to her.

Tony took a deep breath that was cut short, as the insides of his midsection protested against the action, then spilled. "He was… kind of the world to me, took him under my wing for a while. It just… his death hit me the hardest, I knew him the most out of everyone here, like a son." His eyes threatened to well up with liquid again, but he refrained once more, letting out a half-hearted "Sorry about that" before falling silent again.

The woman seemed surprised by his show of emotion, Tony could tell from the way her eyes shifted, to where she glanced at him curiously. The moment had passed quickly though, her face becoming unreadable again, as she held her hand out to him. He hesitated momentarily, but took the gesture nonetheless, knowing that nothing good could come of mourning any longer, as it would just overwhelm him into an endless abyss of sorrow. He needed some form of distraction at the moment.

He stood up with some difficulty, as his adrenaline rush from the fight had come and gone, the woman supporting his weight as he limped forward. As he draped his arm over her shoulder, he found the strength to form the question dancing on his tongue:

"Where are we going?"

"Where else? Terra of course," she replied curtly. He blinked twice, confused, and she got the hint. "Your planet Earth, okay? We're certainly not going to find my father now, he could be anywhere in the universe at this point. He won't show us mercy if we return regardless."

 _Earth._ Her mention of it made his chest feel even more compressed. Were any of the Avengers still alive? How had they fared against the Mad Titan? Did it matter, since either way he had obtained the sixth stone? Whatever the case, all he could hope for was that Thanos at the very least showed the same 'mercy' he did to the group on Titan.

He nodded, relieved that at least someone was on the same page as him today, a plan beginning to form in his head. He decided to probe a little more, and asked her what they would do once they arrived.

"We'll have to heal your wounds first," she told him, and Tony almost rolled his eyes at the obvious statement, before realizing it would be wise to let her continue. "Find as many of your allies as possible, I certainly have none left, then learn as much about the Infinity Stones as possible. It's the best option at the moment, since it seems that powerful sorcerers and other heroes reside on your planet." No doubt she was referring to the now deceased Dr. Strange.

They trudged forward together in a respectful silence for one another afterwards, the words spoken of what lied ahead looming in their minds. Tony didn't mind the rudimentary beginnings of the plan, as despite being keen for a chance at vengeance, he knew even in his current unraveled emotional state that it would be wise to regroup first, especially now that it was likely no one knew where Thanos was. After a few minutes, they entered a relatively intact ship, Tony stumbling towards one of the seats.

"Quill's ship?" he inquired, surprised at the lack of venom in his voice. But maybe he just didn't have the energy for that right now.

She nodded, beginning to power up the vessel. "He called it the _Benatar_." There was a fleeting hint of sadness on her face, no doubt she was thinking of Star-Lord and his plucky group of jokesters. It didn't take long for the ship to go airborne, as the blue woman plotted their course for Earth. Once they had exited the atmosphere of Titan and the ship had stabilized in the vacuum of space, Tony finally allowed himself to relieve some of his tension, if only slightly.

As he watched various stars and planets disappear in the distance, he suddenly wished that his first experience of intergalactic space travel had come under different circumstances. He shook the thought out of his subconsciousness, willing himself to stay focused on what laid ahead. Glancing over at the machine-like lady who was his only confidant for now, it occurred to him that he didn't even know her name. And as much as he didn't mind the silence, the last thing he wanted was for his thoughts to drift back to the battle.

"Oh, I'm Tony by the way," he said, deciding just to be blunt about it. "Tony Stark."

"I'd say we're past formalities at this point, Mr. Stark," she replied, sounding chillier than usual. After a few moments, she seemed to reconsider her stance, sighing.

"Nebula," she told him, as if her name was a curse. Nodding to his midsection, she asked, "How's it holding up?"

Tony reached to touch the grievous stab wound, but instead he only felt metal, his suit's nanobots having regenerated after the battle. He retracted the armor, assessing the damage at hand. While the nanobots had stopped the blood from flowing out and were frantically scrambling to stabilize his torn insides, he knew his condition wouldn't improve much until he received proper medical assistance. He was still resisting the urge to cough up the blood that had surged up his throat.

"Not bad," he lied, deciding he could hang on for another few hours.

She shifted her face, making an expression to suggest she was raising her eyebrows in disbelief (except she had no eyebrows), but left the subject alone. After a prolonged silence where the two observed the cosmos, Nebula got up and headed towards the back of the ship, returning with some sort of broth.

"You have to eat," she said, handing him a spoon before adding, "I didn't save you just to have you die on this ship. _Eat_."

Tony accepted the food and utensil with a trembling hand, sipping the soup quietly, head down. He expected the woman to leave him be after that exchange, so it surprised him when he startled to find one of her metal hands resting on his shoulder. Cold, but oddly comforting in the moment.

"Your head doesn't seem to be in the best place right now," she said, a note of sympathy passing through her tough exterior once more. Tony opened his mouth to deny these allegations, but she held up her other hand and continued. "No one is right now. Just… don't completely lose yourself right now. Get some rest. That's all I can say."

And with that, the moment passed as Nebula straightened up, telling him they would reach Earth in about two hours before walking away.

He craned his neck to glance back at her, befuddled by the woman's behavior. He could tell even from their short exchange that she wasn't a very sociable person, but she had still done well in digging him out of the trench his mind was buried in. She didn't mention anything from her own past, but judging from the lack of flesh, the woman certainly had a troubled one, which explained her typical cold demeanor. Tony didn't mind, he really just needed the company to keep his thoughts at bay. If she wanted to talk about what cruel fate had befallen her earlier, that would be up to her.

For now, he decided to heed her advice as he leaned back in the chair, closing his eyes at last.

* * *

Defeat.

While that was what the Avengers in Wakanda had suffered at the hand of Thanos, the stakes had never been higher.

Trillions of living beings across the universe were gone now because of their failure, a reality that was beginning to sink in for those who survived the battle and Thanos's final act.

They didn't know what to do.

No off handed quip, joke, or heartfelt speech would bring the team out of their heads this time around for the moment, the events of the day shadowing them into a dark place.

Steve Rogers seemed to be headed down that path, as he sat down on the log next to where Vision had died, once by his own accord, followed by a gut-wrenching death at the hands of the purple Titan. The once proud Captain America seemed… broken, a vacant faraway look in his eyes.

Thor meanwhile stood to the side, away from the group that remained when the dust settled. The God of Thunder's eyes bored a hole into the spot where the Mad Titan had mocked his aim before he snapped and exited hastily using the Space Stone. The losses he had suffered that day were only just starting to catch up to him, even before when he had confided in the rabbit Rocket, it still hadn't quite hit him, as he knew there would be a chance to avenge the fallen. He knew in that moment that his journey to Nidavellir with the forging of Stormbreaker would lead to victory, no matter how many Infinity Stones he had to face.

Now he wasn't sure he knew anything at all.

Thanos would never give him or any of the other Avengers that chance again as he hid out in space, somewhere it could take eons to locate him. Thor knew that even with just the Reality Stone, Thanos could turn him and the others into rocks if he pleased, but all six now… the man could erase them from reality with a thought. And with the Black Order members all dead, except for perhaps the telekinetic Thor had seen on the ship, they didn't have a remote idea of where to even begin a search.

Those who were left were of a similar mindset, the losses of those who fought alongside them being mourned, Wakandan warriors and Avengers alike. Murmurs spread throughout the battlefield, people trying to comprehend what had just transpired.

The thing that would get them the most were the words spoken as it happened.

Bucky Barnes's simple "Steve" as he disintegrated, Rhodey yelling Sam's name repeatedly as he searched, never finding a body, Okoye slight hyperventilation as her king died right before her eyes, Rocket begging Groot, who at one point was his only companion, to stay. It was like a nightmare where you screamed but couldn't wake up.

 _But this was real._

It was a while before anyone who fought against Thanos directly had snapped out of their stupor. Captain Rogers had been the first, walking over to Thor, who looked as if it was taking all his willpower to maintain his sanity. The skies were still clear however, no rumblings yet.

"Thor," he said simply, the word welcoming yet serious.

"Hello Captain," the anointed Point Break replied, turning to face him.

Steve extended his hand, knowing neither of them would be very forthcoming of their experiences of the past two years, including the battle that had been just fought.

"Avengers assemble?" Cap asked.

Thor nodded, taking the First Avenger's hand and shaking it firmly, a paper-thin smile managing to appear on his face despite everything.

"I suppose so," was all the answer he could muster before the two men embraced one another.

* * *

The remaining Avengers—Cap, Thor, Banner, Rhodes—held an emergency meeting with the remaining leadership in Wakanda in Shuri, Okoye, M'Baku, and the queen Ramonda, mother of T'Challa. Rocket was present as well, mainly because the talking raccoon had _some_ intel on Thanos. Meanwhile, Natasha was outside the room, making numerous phone calls to see who else was still available to help them with the aftermath.

"What's our next move?" Bruce asked to open the discussion.

"We have go after Thanos," Thor said in a hushed manner, knowing it would be a fruitless journey to locate the Titan, but he had nothing else in mind. "Maybe if we can…"

Rocket's eyes raised in fear as the man trailed off into thought. "Look, Thor… I hate to break it to you, but Thanos could be anywhere in the whole universe right now," the raccoon began. "And even if you manage to find him, he won't be in the mood to do battle now that his goal is complete."

M'Baku chimed agreement. "Wakanda will not help you in your efforts."

"But M'Baku-" Okoye protested.

" _BUT WHAT?_ More than half of our tribes killed in battle, some vanishing before my very eyes. Even our king," his voice quieted down as his rant progressed. "We are no position to fight such a battle now, you know that."

Okoye's eyes looked down to the floor, conceding to the head of the Jabari tribe's points.

"Well then, what do you suggest we do?" a hint of temper flared in Thor's voice before it softened a bit. "I know it isn't the grandest of ideas, but the way I see it, there's _nothing_ else to be done."

"Help the Earth recuperate," This was Steve interjecting. "There's likely already mass hysteria amongst the living, and a lot more than half of all life could be lost if we don't help."

"That might have to wait," Rhodes said, a frown on his face. "Cap, you're still enemy number one in the world right now, I don't like it as much as anyone else here does, but that's the reality of our situation right now. I'll try to get through to the Accords council in the meantime, but we're better off staying here for now. Assuming you're okay with that." War Machine glanced over at the Wakandan royalty for their approval, which was given quickly.

Steve shook his head at the reminder of Earth's slow turning wheels of politics in this era, but nodded agreement anyway.

"In regards to the rest of the Earth," Ramonda spoke sadly. "Some news stations' broadcasts just came back on the air a few minutes."

The group turned their eyes to the holographic television that covered the entirety of the wall, channels across the world showing the world in turmoil, pictures of plane crashes and reports of police being overwhelmed by crime in cities around the world. The group stared at the scenes being shown, sagging slightly, before Bruce spoke up to get everyone's attention.

"Okay, so going after Thanos is a no for now," he began, trying to be a calming presence. "And we aren't going to do much good for the Earth until the panic has gone down a bit. So where does that leave us?"

"In a tight spot for sure," Natasha said grimly, having returned from her phone calls.

"What's our status Nat?" Steve asked quickly.

"I got through to Clint, his whole family's… gone. Told him to stay safe for now, maybe take a Quinjet here when things simmer down a bit. Nothing from Scott…" the Black Widow bit her lip at what she had to say next. "Pepper, she's put herself on lockdown for the time being, no word from Tony though, didn't even go to voicemail."

The group nodded as Natasha took a seat, digesting the news. Eyes flickered towards the screens on the wall once more before Cap rose from his chair, having determined the best course of action. Everyone turned to face the Avengers' leader.

"It hurts to say this," he started, before inhaling a deep breath. "But we have to think long term here, for us and the Earth—no the universe's survival. Thanos seems untouchable right now, we aren't going to bring anyone back by going down that path. Not yet."

"What are you saying?" Rocket asked as the Avenger paused, earning him stares from the rest of the table.

Steve sighed. "What I'm saying is, we'll have to take this one step at a time. Eventually, we'll find a way to pinpoint that purple bastard, but no more battling for now. We're gonna have to pick up the pieces, starting with finding whatever other allies we have left, no matter how small."

Surprisingly, everyone nodded agreement, adjourning the meeting. It wasn't much of a plan, not even a plan at all in truth, but it was a start to steer the ship in the right direction in a post-apocalyptic world.

* * *

As Scott suited up in his suit, Hank assuring him all the kinks were worked out, something came to his mind, an idea that could be a real time saver. He thought of it on the spot while Janet was explaining to him the dangers of the quantum realm. Something about time vortices and other scientific lingo being used.

"Hey Hank, couldn't we just have Hope and I go in to get this quantum energy stuff at the same time? Might save us a couple of trips doing this. I mean, efficiency and all that."

Hank frowned at this, not because of the idea, the idea was good, but from the fact that it was Scott who thought of it. "Well," he said, conceding to the ex-con for the first time in a while, "I don't see why not. Janet and I are enough backup on the outside as it is already."

Hope smiled at her father's mutters under his breath, catching the words "never ceases to amaze" and "couldn't think of it" as he handed her an identical thermos as Scott's to contain the quantum healing particles they would retrieve. She suited up quickly, joining Scott at the entry point of the quantum tunnel.

"Nervous?" Scott teased her, and a smile creeped up Hope's face as she gave him a sideways glance. "I mean, it's okay if you are, I do have experience over you in this area."

She laughed and was about to fire a joke of her own back at him, but Hank cleared his throat. "Excuse me, but could we save the not so subtle flirting for when the adults are not here?" he chided.

The two froze at his comment, putting on their helmets so Hank and Janet wouldn't see the blush creeping up their faces. "Sorry Dad, I could only inherit so much of your 'always down to business' personality," Hope retorted with a grin.

"Right," Hank said, shaking his head slightly. "Anyway, all checks are complete, readying for deployment in 5… 4… 3… 2… and 1." He pushed the button, sending Scott and Hope through the tunnel in the back of Luis's van.

Before they went subatomic, they could hear Janet trying to get Hank to ease up. "Let them have their fun," she said.

As they entered the microverse, Hope looked around in awe, the place being just as beautiful as Hank had described. The fixed point where Scott and Hope had been transported to was vibrant with all sorts of colors on the spectrum. It was like another universe, each individual space so defined.

The two held hands, mesmerized by the view. "Wow" was all Hope could say in that moment.

"I know right?" Scott said giddily. "I didn't remember seeing _this_ my first time around. Actually, I don't remember seeing much of anything at all."

Hope smiled again, still taking it all in. "You know, there's only so much you can learn about a place with just research, especially when there are no photos of it. Seeing it physically, in person, it's something else. Thank you Scott, for giving Hank the idea."

"Well, I didn't just tell him that to save time," he said as the two embraced one another. "I figured you would love to see the place of your own accord."

"Again, could we settle down on the PDAs here and get what we need here?" Hank's voice over the comms device in their ears startled the pair, as they quickly went back to only holding hands.

"Right, right, sorry about that," Scott said sheepishly as he opened his thermos, watching as it absorbed and contained the quantum energy. Hope did the same, the task swiftly completed with no issue whatsoever.

"Quantum energy for Ghost contained and stabilized," Hope reported to the two on the outside. "Ready for re-entry."

"Good," Hank's voice sounded weary now, but after a pause he spoke again. "Preparing for re-entry in…"

Hank's end suddenly fizzled out.

"Okay, good joke guys, you really got us there," Scott said sarcastically, applauding the charade he thought was going on.

After a few seconds, Hope spoke up. "Mom? Dad? Look we'll…" she looked over at Scott and gave him a wink. "We'll tone down the flirting, okay?"

Time continued to move along, but there was no sign of either Hank or Janet's voices resurfacing on the comm. "Guys, seriously, it's not funny anymore, can you get us out of here?" Scott asked, a hint of fear in his voice.

"MOM? DAD? What's going on up there?" Hope added.

The two continued their shouts for help a little longer, until it had finally sunk in for them.

Something terrible had happened.

Were Hank and Janet attacked? By who? Was the quantum tunnel still working? These questions only caused them to wrap their arms around each other, as the Ant-Man and the Wasp pondered the potential answers.

But not even the worst of their imaginations could even begin to think of a scenario as terrifying as what had actually transpired outside the quantum realm.

"Hope?" Scott asked, turning to face her. The two held each other as if the other would vanish if one of them let go. "What do we do now?"

And then Hope Van Dyne, the smartest woman Scott had ever met in his life, uttered the words that Scott never thought he would hear from her ever, tears forming in her eyes.

"I don't know."

* * *

 **A/N: Thanks for reading! I know this is probably just one of hundreds of A4 fanfics out there at this point, but I'm always usually late to the party. Please review, rate, follow, and all that good stuff if you think you're enjoying the story so far. You can PM me for suggestions on future chapters, I'm always open to them so I can improve on my rudimentary writing skills.**

 **Yes, I kept Hope alive, it was a gut punch when she was dusted after her character development in Ant Man and The Wasp.**

 **Stay tuned for more updates!**


	2. Did Someone Say Quantum?

Unsurprisingly, he dreamed in his slumber.

It felt like he was watching a slideshow, still images flashing through his mind slowly, almost taunting him in a sense. He saw his old friend Steve get knocked out by a devastating punch, a shot of Vision's stone being ripped out from his forehead ruthlessly, the metal in Rhodey's suit being contracted, his eyes widening in fear, and all the other Avengers being dispatched in a similar fashion, like ants. For a moment, he wondered if Thanos had decided to get in his head one last time with the Mind Stone.

He didn't cast out the possibility right away, as he got the impression that this was a nightmare he wouldn't be able to wake up from. After all, he and Thanos had been in each other's minds for the past six years, what's another few moments to him? But he also knew that his own mind was extremely susceptible to imagining such scenes playing out.

The images flickered out eventually, and he found himself at a dinner table, the love of his life sitting adjacent to him.

"Pepper?" he spoke feverishly, the one word filled with uncertainty.

"Oh, finally stopped 'thinking', huh?" the woman teased.

He shook his head. "I've done enough of that to last a lifetime," he replied wearily, before forcing a smile.

"Good, then maybe we can finally enjoy the night for once," motioning towards the unopened red champagne, her eyebrows wiggling.

They opened the bottle, pouring the fine drink into their glasses, toasting before heading over to the couch.

They talked carefreely, musing about other members of the team, events around the world, and rumors of other companies looking to exploit Stark Industries. A pointless, free flowing conversation that really had no mettle to it, until a certain topic came up.

"So I was thinking of names, does Tony Jr. sound a little too extravagant for you? I mean, seems like a big burden to put on the kid, having to carry on that mantle," he could tell the alcohol was starting to kick in; she had always been a light drinker.

"I don't know," he said slowly, shaking his head, reaching to touch her belly. "Just the thought of it Pep, it's beyond what my mind can comprehend right now."

"Well I figured I'd ask, since after all," she paused, "he'll be growing up without a daddy."

His mind wasn't able to comprehend these words either.

She smirked now, a pitying look in her eye. "Look at you, making all these upgrades, going so far and yet still so woefully unprepared for what's to come."

"I suppose it was going to happen sooner or later…" she trailed off, her eyes fixated on the wall.

And there was the Titan crashing through, the completed Infinity Gauntlet in his grasp, condemning him to his cruel fate. He felt himself slipping away as the stones began to glow, the energy burning his skin at such close proximity.

"You never were strong enough…" she said almost sadly, her voice then turning cold. "It's better this way."

Before the final blow was struck, the Titan smiled and spoke once more, cupping his head in his hand again, "Surrender Stark."

The words echoed through him, like a shockwave, as he heard his name again, and again… and again… and again. He moved to close his ears but couldn't, his hands incapacitated. It took all his willpower to close his eyes, begging his mind to release him from this.

 _It's not real, it's not real…_ he thought, hoping against hope itself that the mantra would free him.

* * *

After the meeting, the remainder of Wakandan and Avenger leadership alike dispersed as they faced a small fraction of the consequences of Thanos's snap in bringing the distraught Wakandan civilians back into the city from multiple evacuation points. The people were befrazzled and in disarray, but still alert enough to walk back

Thor's heart ached for the Wakandan kingdom's losses in particular, having had his being reduced from a planet to a spaceship to merely survivors at this point in escape pods in just a matter of days. _Days, surely it couldn't have been so short ago._

He noticed that the woman from the meeting—the Queen—seemed… off, he had seen her look in his eyes some time ago. A strong, determined front for the people to not lose the last of their faith and sanity, but beneath it, he could sense she was moments away from breaking down herself. It was all in the eyes. He did not hesitate in doing what he did next, walking over to put a calming hand on her shoulder, royalty aiding royalty.

She glanced up at him. "Hello Asgardian, I don't believe we've met face to face yet," the Queen said.

"No we haven't. Thor, King of Asgard," he replied, realizing now how impulsive he had just been, walking over to the Queen and offering comfort as a stranger. "My apologies, I was overstepping there, your highness." He removed his hand but didn't just leave yet, joining her in seeing what was left of Wakanda be escorted back to the city.

She turned to him, a thin smile protruding her face. "No need for apologies now, it's important that we continue to work together through this," she said, before extending her hand to him. "Ramonda, former Queen of Wakanda."

"Former, eh? You appear to be doing a good job right now, guiding your people through this," he said, many civilians looking up to the woman. "You're just what they need right now, a strong, unwavering presence to calm the storm." _Hopefully not mine,_ he thought.

She nodded in thanks to the words. "Thank you," she began. "It's just that here we determine our next king by our own ritual, a challenge system if you will, so the heir is not necessarily passed down through bloodlines. But things are so frantic right now… all five tribes agreed that a challenge for the throne was the last thing we needed, so I'm left in charge."

Thor was intrigued by this challenge ritual, anyone being to able to vie for the crown, much unlike Asgard where the Odinson family had never been usurped. He fought his way out of thought however, as the sadness in her tone was evident.

"I'm sorry for the losses you suffered," he started, trying to make the consolation he gave her sound less hollow than he had imagined in his mind. "Your people are lucky to have a morally staunch leader like you in a time like this."

"While I don't believe a people are limited by their leader's attitude," she said, nodding to his words, "this is where we have to be the example to carry the people out of the darkness, their eyes will all be on figures like Okoye, M'Baku, and myself right now, looking for some sort of help. We have to maintain composure and order for everyone's sake."

"The people are in good hands," Thor said almost musingly, hesitating for a moment at what he wanted to say. "But speaking for their leader, how are you and your family managing yourselves? I… I know from experience it's never easy."

Ramonda sighed, a sign that the situation wouldn't be easy to handle. "Shuri… she's taking it harder than everyone else, when Okoye broke the news to her, she completely broke down," she told him, as Thor recalled the tech savvy girl at the lab. "I cried out a lot myself, I shouldn't expect different from her, I can tell she's still reeling. She's growing to be her own woman, but she is still only a teenager at this point."

"Where is she now?" Thor figured he would look for signs on the girl for the Queen.

"In her lab with Dr. Banner, trying to preoccupy herself with work, it's how she copes."

"I'll keep an eye on her, take care Ramonda," he said, patting her on the shoulder once more before beginning to walk back to the main building.

She nodded, the last of the civilians having been evacuated from the site.

* * *

"Are you sure this will work?" Bruce asked, eyeing the device the two of them had spent the last hour or so creating and then modifying.

"Of course," Shuri replied with total confidence. Banner enjoyed her company, she was a girl invigorated by the unknown, a master at utilizing the vibranium she had on hand, and always kept him on his toes whether through her intellect or humor. "It may only be a prototype, but it should give us a preliminary reading on his location."

"How accurate are we talking about here?"

"The first reading should at least pinpoint which galaxy he's in, but he has to use the stones and their immense energy for that."

Bruce shook his head. "I don't know, Shuri, it seems like a long shot."

Shuri laughed. "Oh come on Dr. Banner, for all you've learned while obtaining your 7 PhD's, you seem to have to forgotten the course about pushing the boundaries, exploring the impossible. Even if it's a long shot, it's still better than the shot we had before."

"Alright, I'll concede to that," he said, raising his hands as he finished programming the system. "You finished on your end?"

"Yes, I've just been making improvements to the design to help the system learn quicker," she replied with a smirk. "Now if we're ready to begin, we-"

"Nice to see you two getting along," Steve's voice rang out as he stepped in the lab. "I shouldn't be very surprised though."

Bruce smiled as he looked around the lab for the umpteenth time, shaking his head in wonder. "Steve, it's all just… so incredible. Their technology must be centuries ahead of ours. The efficiency of these designs are off the charts, it puts my stuff to shame. Getting to use this stuff to me is like handing a kid the keys to Disneyland."

"Well I was never one for modesty-" Shuri began.

"Tell me about it," Bruce chuckled.

"But your designs are quite impressive, considering the resources you've had at hand. I consider myself just fortunate to have access to all this, it really accelerated my learning," she finished.

Steve nodded, his eyes settling on the machine that Bruce and Shuri had been working on. It was good to see some teamwork already in session, even if he didn't understand _what_ it was they were working on. "How's it coming along?" he asked.

Bruce jumped in to explain, something like awe in his voice. "It's a device we've been working on that should be able to track traces of energy quantities throughout the universe. We think if Thanos uses the Infinity Stones again, we might be able to narrow down his location given the sheer amount of energy those things exert. We're also just keeping our eyes peeled for other high energy sources, maybe something we can use to gain an advantage down the road. Anyway, I'm rambling, and you get enough of that on a daily basis."

"Right, you two keep working on that," Steve said with a nod. "If there's even the slimmest of chances we could find Thanos with it, it'll be worth the time and effort."

"Actually, we are all done with putting our time and effort into it," Shuri told him, pressing a start-up button. "Now we simply monitor the device as it searches for these energy quantities being released."

"That easy?" Cap asked, an eyebrow raised.

"Oh no, it is a very tedious process. The device only picks up traces of the energy exerted outside of Earth, but I've programmed the system accordingly so that it only gives me readings of sources with a certain energy to distance ratio to narrow down the options. Not to mention, the AI in the machine will have to learn in time what kind of energy it's detecting, and not to forget its range is limited for now," Shuri concluded, receiving a look from Bruce in response to her last statement.

"What, it's true! Vibranium is an incredible metal with an _almost_ endless number of capabilities, but even it has its limits. It would take eons for this device to account for every significant energy source in this vast, expanding universe. But I know that's not why you came here, Captain," she said.

Steve looked to the teenager, impressed. "She's pretty good at this," he said to Bruce, who nodded while trying to contain a laugh.

"I just wanted to inform you guys that we're going to be sending a PR team out to the press, maybe have a meeting with the UN about this. Me and Rhodey are going for sure, and Nat's going to let me kn-" he was cut off by a beeping.

The three rushed over to the device, discovering with surprise that the energy reading came from Earth, in what looked to be San Francisco.

Bruce looked over at Steve, confused. "You know anyone who was planning to fire a nuke in San Fran? Because that's one of the energy sources we told the device to scan for here on Earth, unless it was something else. Like something with enough energy to cause a citywide power outage."

He shook his head. "No, the only person we know who lives there is Scott, and I don't see how he could've caused a disturbance that big. Not to mention, it seems he's…" he trailed off, both of them knowing of Scott's fate.

"Whatever it is, it's an energy source big enough to get on our radar," he said, turning to Shuri. "Could you get us a reading on that?"

"Working on it," the tech inclined girl replied, pulling up holographic camera feeds of San Francisco onto the wall. "These are all the feeds of the city we have access to."

There were no visible signs of an explosion or any massive energy source, just harried people running to their homes, riots in the street, and a high number of crashed cars and wreckage throughout the city. "That's odd," Shuri muttered, looking bewildered for the first time. "Unless…"

"Unless it's what, Shuri? Something underground? Maybe just a high power surge?" Banner suggested.

"No, this is something completely foreign to our world, a concept I thought no one could have perfected at this time. Even my knowledge on it is limited."

"What is it?" Steve asked, as Shuri's device was also frantically searching for the source of the energy.

"It's something subatomic. Quantum."

* * *

Another emergency meeting was held, only this time Okoye, M'Baku, and Ramonda weren't present since they had the task of putting their people back at ease. Bruce figured they wouldn't miss much and that the science would only bore them anyway. That left the remaining Avengers, Shuri, and Rocket, who tagged along because he had nowhere else to go.

"Thanks for coming on such short notice guys," Bruce said, holding a clicker for the slideshow he had whipped together for the meeting. Since he was the group's 'expert' on everything quantum, he had the task of explaining the concept to them all.

"Why are we here again?" Rocket asked, shaking his head.

"Because we're going to discuss something that could be the key to beating Thanos," he replied, and this certainly piqued everyone's interest. At least he was going to have an attentive audience for a few more minutes than expected.

"Now this is the quantum realm. Or at least a picture of what we think it looks like based on theory. The quantum realm is an entirely different microverse, a miniature universe within our own. It has its own rules about space and time that even I'm not very clear on right now. Any laws of physics that exist, everything you know about this world, it'll all be probably thrown out the window there."

"Until now, we thought that no one ever had access to the quantum realm," Bruce continued, pressing the clicker. "Until the Ant-Man, Scott Lang, we believe. To enter the quantum realm, you'd have to go subatomic and shrink between molecules and atoms themselves, which the Ant-Man is certainly capable of. Shrinking I mean, based on your guys' experience." The other Avengers nodded.

"He and his two known associates, Hope Van Dyne and Hank Pym, who worked for SHIELD until his resignation in 1989, were on the run in San Francisco from FBI until recently. Now I tried digging through some SHIELD files to see when Pym had mastered this phenomenon, but his were wiped from the system entirely."

Thor raised his hand almost in jest as Bruce finished talking. "Listen, this is a great story and all Banner, but how is this going to help us defeat Thanos?" the God inquired.

"Well that last part won't help, I just wanted to give more background on Scott," he admitted. "But I can tell you, the quantum realm holds immense power. Our device over there which tracks energy disturbances was going haywire when it found the source of the quantum energy in San Francisco. Based on the results, Shuri and I think that he's been transporting quantum energy back to the real world. That would explain why he wasn't answering his phone earlier."

"Okay," Natasha responded, before Rocket could make another sarcastic quip. "Where does this leave us?"

"We think that the quantum energy has a great deal of potential. If harnessed, it could compare to the power of Infinity Stone to some degree, or maybe even give people augmented powers," Banner explained.

"What kind of powers are we talking about here?" Steve inquired, his mind still processing the information given.

Shuri cut in. "We don't know right now. Healing powers, genetic mutation, the good kind I presume, abilities to travel the realms with ease? Should the quantum energy be truly that powerful, I suspect it could do all this and more. Given what we know so far, I think it's fair to make these kinds of assumptions."

With that, Banner turned to the group as a whole, and as expected, he was met with several skeptical looks and murmurs of curiosity. He knew he would need to give them one final push to get them on board; it was time to appeal to the group's sense of morality, rather than continuing to explain about a mystical realm that they had no concrete proof even existed.

"Look guys, I know it sounds ridiculous," he began, opting to lay out the plan at once, exposition be damned. "Worst case scenario, we can locate Scott and pick up another person for the fight. I don't think there's anyone else who could've caused this disturbance. But if we're right about this, then we could unlock an entire new dimension and use its resources to tip the scales in our favor a bit. It's low risk, high reward."

This finally persuaded the group, if only just barely. Rhodes remained silent as he had for the whole meeting, but there was a glimmer of understanding in his eyes as he nodded slightly to Bruce. Natasha seemed to agree more begrudgingly, a worried look reaching her face, but she didn't protest. Thor seemed to contemplate the information before giving a _eh, why the hell not?_ shrug. Rocket crossed his arms with a scowl on his face, but that to be expected of the raccoon at this point. Finally, Steve spoke up, just like their last meeting a few hours ago.

"It wouldn't hurt to do some recon," Cap acknowledged before walking over to him. "Bring him back if you can find him, if what you're saying is true, Scott could be a real game changer."

"Wait, you want me to go?!" Bruce half exclaimed, half questioned.

"Seeing that you seem to know the most of this stuff out of us all, I'd say you're the only candidate. Quantum physics was never my major," he said with a chuckle.

"Be careful out there, Banner," Thor said next, pulling him into a hug, "I expect you to be back by tomorrow evening, no exceptions."

"Becoming King of Asgard really made you feel like you have to watch over everyone now, huh?" he replied, shaking his head.

"Just a bit," the God admitted.

"Shuri, just so I can accommodate Thor's deadline, do you think you can get me a jet? Preferably a fast one with cloaking, I'd like to return it in one piece," Banner said, giving Thor a tilted look.

"Let me see what the hangar has to offer," the girl sprung to her feet, racing down the hallway.

Rhodey shook his head in amusement at the sight, speaking for the first time. "That young lady really does run everything here, doesn't she?"

No one contested this claim as the meeting ended, each individual headed off to do their own thing.

* * *

Bruce was taken to an aircraft carrier port, as Shuri and a Wakandan pilot—well, mainly Shuri—explained how to operate the vehicle. The sleek, aerodynamic jet was basking out in the receding sunlight as nightfall loomed. Most of the instructions had flown right by him, and since Shuri wasn't one to repeat her words, he had almost tuned out of the tutorial altogether. It didn't help that there seemed to be a plethora of levers, switches, and handles at his disposal. Thankfully there was an autopilot, and he was told that a lot of the features were for combat situations.

For now, he knew how to depress triggers to launch missiles at hostiles, steer and (shakily) pilot the jet in case of trouble, and activate the cloaking. That would have to suffice for now. He was surprised they were letting him fly without a guide, but Shuri explained to him they could remotely access and control the internal systems of the vehicle for him should anything fail.

"Oh and Dr. Banner," Shuri told him as she walked away. "Someone requested to see you before you left."

A side door to the aircraft garage opened, revealing Black Widow strolling down the runway towards him. As she approached, he noticed Shuri and the pilot acknowledge her before they walked away, giving the two their space.

"Hi," she said.

"Why is it that I'm getting déjà vu?" he cracked, pulling her into a hug, relieved that there was no one around them this time around.

She shrugged, trying to play it off. "It's been a few years, just have to… adjust a bit under these new circumstances."

"Yeah, it's been tough," he said, sighing as he thought back to the hazy cloud his last two years were shrouded in. "But we're all doing our best Nat, and right now this is the best thing I can do, like Cap said, we're gonna have to play the long game here."

"I know," she said, her gaze understanding. "I didn't come to talk you out of this."

 _Well, she did always like to keep people guessing._ "So, why did you?" he asked, looking at her curiously.

"To tell you that you look like utter crap," the agent responded, not a hint of sarcasm anywhere. Bruce blinked twice. "I'm serious, when was the last time you slept?" The concerned look she had shown during the meeting returned, as the sagging skin and dark spots were clear under his eyes.

"I don't remember, probably when I was the Hulk," he said, trying not to think back to the control issues he and his alter ego had.

Her voice softened. "How is the big guy?"

"Really, really pricky right now. A bigger baby than usual," Bruce said, letting out a sigh of frustration. "Hasn't come out since he fought Thanos and we needed him, but didn't let me out for the past two years. I'd say we have issues, but I think we're working it out a bit. We can talk about it another time though…" He trailed off there, unsure what else to say. She clearly didn't either, and he hoped this wasn't what was going to be left of their relationship: a spark here and there, but nothing left to truly rekindle.

"Just be safe out there, okay?" she said after a prolonged silence. "We just got you back, and you're already cracking down to business like nothing happened. Don't wear yourself out, we need you."

And with that, she rested her hand upon his shoulder, looking at him eye to eye for a few brief moments before turning away. Bruce looked to her in confusion, unable to think of anything to say as she walked down the small runway. _Better to say nothing at all._

Whatever it was that was between them, he decided, it would have to wait. How long, he didn't know, but he hoped that there could at least be something to salvage in the end. He boarded the small aircraft, quickly moving to the pilot's chambers as he began booting up the system. Shuri had already set the coordinates for the source of the outburst of quantum energy, informing him the system would automatically update should the location shift.

He allowed the autopilot to run, watching the skyline for a few minutes, as the piloting system informed him he would arrive in San Francisco in five hours if he continued traveling at his current speed. He told the plane's systems to wake him once it had reached America, from there he would activate the cloaking. It was going to be a decently long ride and he didn't mind.

For the first time in days, Bruce Banner let himself be consumed by sleep.

* * *

When Thor knocked on the door of Steve Rogers's room, he walked into a scene very much like he had imagined: Him and Rhodey going over what to say for the media press conference they would hold in two days from now. The Asgardian was glad that interviews and social media were never prevalent during his days on Asgard; he would've made a mockery of himself with either outlandish claims or by insulting others, especially in his younger days.

"Ah ha, good to see you two hard at work," There was a spark in his eyes as he spoke, twinkling with mischief.

"It gets tiresome," Rhodes flipped through some news reports, scribbling down information. "Looking for the right thing to say, trying to avoid the media twisting your words, always under the scrutiny of the camera. I've never been a fan of it, preferred to stick behind the scenes and seal things with a handshake."

"Well, you are going to have Public Enemy Number One with you, from what I've heard," Thor told him, pointing to Steve. "I wouldn't fret too much given how attention he's going to draw."

At this, the former Captain America smiled sadly and stood up, thinking about how drastically things had changed for him so fast, from worldwide hero to wanted fugitive of the law. Thor's words hit him hard just because of how true they were; all eyes were going to be on him, and him alone.

"Rhodey didn't tell them I'll be showing," he said quietly, Thor giving him a stunned look. "They would never let us in if we announced my presence, so to start it'll just be him, and we'll go from there. I'm not really one for dramatic entrances, but... first time for everything."

"I'm sorry, Rogers," Thor began, his second apology in a matter of an hour. He could see the hurt on the war veteran's face as he spoke. "Doing so much for your people and standing for what you believe is right and being outlawed for that… Earth in a nutshell it seems, the people seem to always live in the moment."

Steve smiled at the god, he seemed to have changed over the past two years. And with it, he could tell there was a new sense of humility and caring for others, likely from having to protect his own people.

"So, why are you here anyway?" War Machine cleared his throat as he spoke, breaking the two men out of thought. "It was a hell of a speech, remind me to use that when I go to the UN."

"Oh, well there's a question I can answer at least," Thor replied. "This place is just too damn big, figured I'd ought to stick with the ones I know, maybe catch up a bit, or-"

His voice was interrupted by the ringing of a cell phone. Steve's eyes widened in surprise, lunging to grab the phone.

"Only one person has this number," his voice became resolute at this statement, before he pressed the 'Accept Call' icon, Thor and Rhodey leaning in.

"Hello?" he said softly, almost imperceptible.

"Steve… I'm glad I found you," the voice of Tony Stark was no doubt there, coughing as he spoke, strained but still audible as the three men. "Tried Pep… hospitals are failing, wh-where are you?"

"Wakanda, Tony! Wakanda! We're getting you coordinates right now, hang on," Steve said, Rhodey scrambling to send the location.

"Always… always cou-could on you," he said, sounding more out of it. "Pu-putting you through now."

"Sent the coordinates! Hey Tony, Tony!" Rhodes yelled into the phone. "Anthony Edward Stark, do you hear me, you do not have permission to die yet, understood?" he was determined to give his childhood friend a reason to survive, no matter how badly he had been hurt.

"You have always been a stubborn man Stark, dying isn't something stubborn people do!" Thor said, echoing Rhodes's sentiment.

"He hears you, and we've got it," a cold female voice responded, sounding almost like one of Tony's AIs, but not quite. There was too much emotion contained within the voice. "We're on our way now."

And then the call ended, leaving the three heroes perplexed as to just who else Tony had gotten himself involved with that day.

* * *

 **A/N: Appreciate all the reviews from last chapter, they really pushed me to go forward with this chapter earlier than I had planned. Hope you guys enjoyed this entry as well, idk why I focused on Banner so much, it just kind of happened. I did my best to have the resident scientists to explain the quantum realm in a convoluted yet understandable manner, hopefully I accomplished my goal. If you enjoyed the wackiness and big words used, be sure to do all that following and reviewing stuff that supports me and whatnot and actually makes me want to write. Thanks for reading!**

 **We'll get some Scott and Hope next chapter, no need to fret. Just didn't quite have time to put them in here, the chapter exceeding 5,000 words as it is. Well, until next update,**

 **-BasketballIsFun**


	3. Lost

Right after Tony Stark's brief phone call with Steve, Rhodey, and Thor had ended, a spaceship arrived on the premises, hovering over the electromagnetic shield before any three of them had a chance to explain what was going on.

Naturally, there was a defensive response from the Wakandans, given the events of the day. The tribes made note of the unknown vessel looming over their borders, many of them racing out to get a different vantage point. Steve spoke into his earpiece hoping to defuse what could be an ugly misunderstanding.

"Nat! Shuri! Someone!" he yelled in a commanding tone. "That ship's not a hostile, Tony's in there and he needs medical assistance! Get them to lower the shield!"

"Doing it right now," Shuri's voice came over the comm. "I just had to establish contact first to be safe."

The three of them heaved a sigh of relief, scrambling to the ground level of the main building to greet Stark and whoever else he was with. "Shuri, tell them to land in the main area next to our Quinjet," Steve instructed. "Make sure your people are ready to take Tony to the medical bay as soon the ship lands."

The elevator shot down to the first floor in seconds, just fast enough for Steve, Thor, and Rhodey to see the ship land in front of the main building. They raced out to greet the new arrivals, the ramp of the spacecraft dropping unceremoniously onto the ground. A blue, machine like woman stumbled out, practically dragging the unconscious Iron Man forward. She must've been the voice they heard over the call.

Steve and Thor instantly ran forward to aid the ailing billionaire, Rhodey falling just a little behind due to not having augmented physical abilities.

"How is he?" Cap asked with urgency, grimacing at Tony's blood tainted face.

"He insisted he was fine," she said, shaking her head as they rushed him forward. "But I tried stabilizing him regardless. He woke up with an adrenaline rush, sweating, and I think that drained the last of his energy."

 _Damn you Stark, always saying you can handle it, it's no big deal,_ Thor thought, knowing the mortal always willed himself to push beyond his limits.

Shuri rushed forward with a group of medics, holding a set of beads in her hand. "Where is the wound in question?" she inquired.

The woman nodded to Tony's midsection, and Shuri quickly ripped open his shirt, placing the beads where the nanobots had sealed the puncture earlier. "This will stabilize him," she explained, Tony's breathing growing steadier and less ragged the second she implanted the device.

"We will work on him as efficiently as possible, but he will likely need at least a day before exerting himself further," Shuri cautioned, motioning to the medics to take Tony onto the gurney they had brought out.

With that, they rushed him inside to the subterranean level medical bay, where only a few ailing Wakandan warriors still remained, as they hadn't suffered many casualties from the Outriders. Steve snuck in one last glance at the man before he and the medics disappeared around a corner.

A silence ensued between the four left standing outside until Thor spoke, "Let's head inside. Standing in this blistering heat won't do us any good."

Everyone could agree on that at the very least, trudging inside the grand building. The silence trickled on a little more, eyes darting between one another.

"I'm gonna… go keep an eye on him, make sure he's alright," Rhodey spoke awkwardly. "Steve, Thor, uh, you, you guys want to come along?"

"Just a moment," Thor told him, his eyes settling on the blue lady, questions filling his head.

The colonel nodded, as if expecting that response. "Steve?"

The former Captain America hesitated, memories of their last exchange burning through his mind. He wasn't sure if he could even watch Stark in his current state without regret and remnants of anger coursing through him. Still… "I guess it'll be a start," he finished his thought out loud, turning to Thor before he moved to leave. "Try to get our new arrival acquainted."

Nebula shot the aforementioned Steve a deathly stare in response to his discussing her in that matter, but he had already turned to walk down to the medical bay with his friend, leaving her and this Thor standing in the main hall of the lavish building.

"Hello there," he began with a polite wave before extending his arm. "I'm Thor, Son of Odin, God of Thunder. It's a pleasure to meet you. Glad to see you were able to bring back Stark in one piece."

She half snorted at the greeting, making no move to extend her hand. The man had seemed oddly familiar to her, though that made sense considering he apparently was a God. Maybe he was one of those who Thanos had kept tabs on in his hunt for the Infinity Stones, though Nebula couldn't recall any mention of Thor while she had discreetly listened to her father's plans.

"… where Thanos is," Nebula realized the man had continued talking once she had ignored his gesture. "Any information you have on him would be nice, we're only just starting to assemble the beginnings of a plan."

"Right," she said neutrally, unsurprised that the group on Terran didn't know the Titan's location. For a second, she contemplated heading back to the _Milano_ and so she could hunt her father herself, but quickly shut the idea down. The last time she had tried, it resulted in her having the worst year of her life as a prisoner. And it had cost her Gamora, one of the only people who didn't look at her differently. _Gamora…_

"Hey, are you alright?" Thor asked her, a sincere look of concern in his different coloured eyes. His voice had a strange touch to it. "You seem distressed, on edge a bit. But maybe that's just your regular look."

Nebula groaned at the God's persistence; impressed, yet annoyed, and shockingly a bit relieved by it. He was offering himself as an outlet to vent, and she would gladly take it. "My father was the most manipulative, evil, genocidal man in the universe, and he just succeeded in his life long goal of balance. How do you-"

He cut her off, realizing the gravity of her words. "Wait, _Father?_ " he questioned, and Nebula reprimanded herself for that mistake. Why had she let out her emotions to this man? _I really cannot deal with more attitude today._

"So you're the sister of that green woman, Gamora," he continued, taking the conversation a different direction than she had anticipated.

"Wait, you knew her?" she demanded, unable to hide the shock in her voice.

"Yes, after Thanos had destroyed my ship, she and her group found me in space. She was the one who informed me of his intentions, to kill half of all life in the universe. I only… _knew_ her for a few minutes really, before I had to go forge my Thanos killing weapon. Is she…" he trailed off, not wanting to say the word. He had enough of death for even his lifetime already.

Thor didn't bother with giving another 'I'm sorry' speech to her, he understood that in the moment she just needed her space to compose her thoughts, pushing her about it wouldn't help. Much like how he opened up to Rocket in that pod, the creature didn't really probe him for answers aggressively, he simply let Thor explain at his own pace, keeping his questions brief.

"I… never saw before how much she meant to me recently," she started, eyes full of resolve and a sliver of regret. "I had only sought revenge in the past, she had bested me in every fight Thanos put us up to, and then she had the audacity to leave… Well that was what I thought at the time."

"When I tried to kill her again, naturally she bested me. But… she saved me as well, and it was then I realized that we were both just survivors, under the eye of our stepfather. Only difference between us really was that she had a plan to escape and I didn't initially. Gamora was the only sibling I didn't loathe, and now my ambitions for vengeance has…"

Nebula didn't want to say it out loud, that her sneaking onboard Thanos's ship had gotten Gamora killed, but she knew it was true. She didn't want to reveal too much to Thor, she was surprised she divulged as much information as she had, but after the day's events, she was breaking down. Was it a weakness or strength in admitting your faults?

"It's fine, you don't have to continue," Thor told her, understanding on his face. "We should get you acquainted, I haven't really gotten around the place myself anyways. We'll be having another meeting tomorrow, you're free to come if you please."

Nebula frowned at how easily he seemed to turn over his trust. Given that he was centuries old, she was astonished that he hadn't been wary of her initially. She didn't question _that_ though. "What exactly goes on with these meetings and why should I be interested?"

"Well, what's left of leadership in this territory and the Avengers convene and we mainly just discuss world crises, some politics I tune out, and we speculate on Thanos's whereabouts and how we can find him. You seem to be a strong willed ally, you have knowledge of Thanos, and after all, if the rabbit is there, you certainly can be as well."

"Rabbit?"

"Oh, that's right," Thor said, a realization coming to him. "You said you knew Gamora and her friends? Rocket will at the very least be delighted to see you."

Nebula groaned internally, the upcoming dilemma not even occurring to her until now. Why did the task of telling him that the remaining the Guardians were dead fall on her? She had left Rocket on better terms than before, but to explain this? She shook her head coldly, trying to gain the conviction for what she had to say next.

"Tell him to keep his distance," she decided making it short would do it.

Thor looked surprised, giving her a sideways look that evaporated quickly, remembering not to push her. Though he wondered what history laid between the two. "Alright, I'll make note of that," he obliged, pointing to the elevator. "We should make our way up now."

But then the elevator door dinged open, revealing the raccoon. Nebula stopped dead in her tracks behind Thor, willing herself to not move.

 _Of course,_ she thought. _The universe has a sickening sense of fate._

"Hello, rabbit," Thor began, all smiles. "What brings you down here?"

"Heard from your hot, scary assassin lady that we had some new arrivals. I've always been a great welcoming committee," the raccoon scanned the main lobby for a sign of them. "Where are those asshats anyway?"

"They're both down in the medical bay already," Thor lied, and the smile became less genuine.

Rocket snorted. "You can cut the crap, Thor. I already hacked into the feeds and saw you two chatting it up," he retorted, holding a tablet showing live footage of the lobby.

"Didn't know you were such a tech wizard," Thor chuckled at the thought of it.

"When you get arrested as much as I do, it's pretty much required to be skilled in that area," he explained. "Now could I speak to Nebula please?"

"Oh, you mean her-"

"Yeah, doesn't surprise me you didn't tell you it that fast. Based on past experience, she can be pretty distrusting even when we're on the same side."

Nebula pushed by Thor after this latest comment, planting herself in front of Rocket. "What do you want, Rocket?" she asked, her voice colder than normal.

"Well for one, I'd like to catch up. And two, we can get to the rest of it later," he told her.

Thor looked around at the two, opting to give them some one on one time, against his better judgement. Both of them seemed like they had fuses ready to go off, but he was hoping they had enough composure to prevent it from escalating too far. "I'll leave you two to… talk about whatever you guys are able to talk about. I'm going to go check on Stark."

And with that, he headed down to the medical bay, already hearing a bit of testiness in the two estranged acquaintances' voices.

* * *

Scott Lang and Hope Van Dyne continued to explore the depths of the quantum realm. Not because they wanted to, but due to the fact that it was dreadfully boring to remain stationary at their entry point and that it couldn't hurt to search for a nonexistent secret exit. The two had discussed their predicament for what felt like an eternity before deciding to do something they at least _thought_ would be productive. They weren't even sure how long they had been down there, Janet seemed to be the proof that time worked relatively similar in the quantum realm, but it didn't mean much when they couldn't perceive the concept in the moment.

After they secured the thermoses containing the quantum energy to their suits—it _was_ the reason they were stuck there in the first place, might as well keep it—the two opted to wander aimlessly along the immense dimension. _Wander_ was a generous term though; the quantum realm had its rules about motion apparently. They discovered the most efficient way to go about it was by kicking out with their legs to propel themselves, while using their arms to control their direction. It was tedious, almost like swimming in an endless sea.

It soon became a bleak, fruitless journey, the two of them only coming across a few subatomic life forms. The colours of the region had at least changed while they ventured, offering a change of scenery on occasion.

Suddenly, without warning, Scott caught up to Hope, grabbing her covered hand with a worried look in his eye. "The hallucinations," he began, a look of concern on his face. "Have you seen any yet?"

"No, I haven't," she replied, feeling a bit more on edge. That was one aspect she hadn't considered when diving down there. "Hank told me about them, how they seemed to consume you with fear, manipulate your brain to shut down. He said it was impossible for the human mind to comprehend… Scott, are you… have you had any?"

He shook his head, replacing Hope's concern with confusion. "I… I just remembered what I saw the last time I was here. The voices, I just heard one, Hank's, but it still drowns you out Hope, makes your sanity a plague, twists everything you know. It lulls you into a sense of complacency, makes you want to give up. The only reason I snapped out of it was because of Cassie…" he took a deep breath, locking eyes with her. "If it does come Hope, fight it, don't give in."

"Okay," Hope responded, still shaken by the fear he had shown. Until something else clicked into place for her. "But wait, how do you remember this now? Did returning to the quantum realm trigger something in your mind?"

"Huh, I guess so," he said, putting a thoughtful gloved hand on his covered chin. "Coming back to the source of the memory and all."

"Do you think you can remember how you got out the first time?" she asked, a touch of hope reappearing in her voice.

"That would make sense..." Scott replied, wondering how to go about it. "I guess I have to let it come back to me, just a second," he closed his eyes, attempting to recall the sequence of events. First Hank's voice came, an endless mantra entailing his fate should he go subatomic. He remembered dashing through the quantum realm and an inordinate number of atoms, becoming _smaller_ than an atom, his existence reduced to essentially nothing. When he heard Cassie's voice, what had he done? It was like a hazy picture slowly coming into focus, as light shone on it. Another one of Hank's lectures had come to his mind, something about messing with the suit. _The suit._

"Do not mess with the regulator," he mumbled in realization.

"What?" Hope asked quizzically, turning to him.

"That's what I remembered Hank's voice telling me. It gave me the idea to implant an enlarging disk into the regulator, and it was enough to bring me back. We could do it again, cou-" he stopped his excitement when he saw Hope looking dejected.

"Hope, what's wrong?" he asked, before frisking his pockets to discover no enlarging disks. "Oh no."

"Not only that, but Hank made sure you wouldn't be able to tamper with the regulator now with the new design," Hope added, her face showing dismay as she opened both their regulators. "Completely dependent on the Pym Particles, no possibility of externally altering the design."

"So that leaves us…"

"Back to square one," she finished.

"Okay, we'll take it easy then, definitely not going to find an exit like this. Conserve our energy," Scott suggested.

"Scott, we _are_ basically just pure energy right now," Hope countered.

"Huh, good point," he admitted, rethinking their approach. But what else was there to do but continue searching? "Alright, just stick to our original plan, keep looking for-"

A burst of static interrupted him. "You've gotta be kidding me!" he cried out, yanking the comms device from his ear. "Hope, is yours-"

"It's malfunctioning too, we must've entered a part of the realm that's interfering with the signal," she explained, putting hers in the small storage compartment of her suit. "Now we're completely cut off from the outside." Her face scrunched up into thought at the words, she was clearly thinking of something odd that had transpired while they had been stranded.

"Hope, I know that look. What's on your mind?" Scott inquired, moving to keep pace with her.

"I was thinking about what had happened well, out there," she said without hesitation, motioning towards the outside world. He nodded, the thought having crossed his mind as well, but it hadn't come up in conversation until now, the two of them wanting to focus on their current situation. "I didn't want to talk about it before, I know, but going over how it went down, it seems… bizarre. Like something doesn't add up."

"You mean like it had happened too fast," he said, a statement, not a question.

Hope looked surprised and pleased their thought process had led down the same path. "Exactly, if Mom and Dad were being attacked, we would've heard some sign of it. A gunshot, screaming, or at least a voice. Not to mention, if they were in imminent danger, Hank would've pushed that button to bring us back instantly. Instead, the comm goes dead without even a trace."

"What do you think it means? They were attacked by ninjas, some covert, highly trained agents?"

"I don't know, maybe," she admitted for the second time that day. If it was even the same day. She then tapped the wrist of her suit, which had displayed a holograph of the status of the quantum tunnel until the signal couldn't be retrieved. "The good news is, the tunnel was still intact with no damage when the system was still transmitting, surprisingly, so if someone _did_ get the jump on my parents, they're probably keeping them alive for intel and the tunnel for their own purposes. Meaning we'll have to be ready for a potential rescue mission if someone decides to let us out."

"Okay, let's see what we're dealing with here: Best case scenario, Hank and Janet were taken as hostages by some highly trained people who have fast enough reflexes that they could take them down before either one of them could push a button to let us out," Scott reiterated, grimacing as he went on.

"Pretty much."

After that, there was a pause in the conversation as the pair continued to search the depths of the quantum realm. They soon began to feel as though they were drifting, not in as much control of their motion as before, but it was only slight. Still, it was enough to draw their concern.

"You feel that?" Hope inquired.

"Yeah, it's like something's dragging us further," Scott replied, a bit puzzled at the new development. "Something with its own gravity."

"I don't like this, we need to be in control of our motion," she stated firmly. "Whatever's pulling us forward can't be good if it has a strong gravitational force, it could be like the quantum realm's version of a black hole. We could end up being lost here forever if we get sucked into an inescapable area."

Scott nodded, the prospect of being trapped forever not being very enticing. "Okay, let's head back. Uh, wherever _back_ is," he said.

But before they could even begin to break free of whatever was tugging at them, a vortex rippled into existence within very close proximity, pulsating with energy. It pulled at them with a menacing force to it, immediately threatening to suck the two in. The vortex threatened to drag in the closer Hope, swirling her body around the surface as it began to consume her.

But before it could completely, Scott's hand intertwined with hers, desperately looking for something to grasp with his other. He pulled with all the strength he could muster, to no avail. He felt like the vortex was dragging them in with an immeasurable force, but he refused to concede. _No, this can't be happening._

"Scott." Her voice was calm, almost like a whisper. He wasn't sure how he was able to hear it.

"Hope, don't give up yet, we can-"

"Scott, I love you," she managed to say, as the vortex began to drag them in. "I had to say it at least once, before the end…"

"I-I love you too, Hope," he said with all the feeling he could muster, still fighting against the unstoppable force. "But it isn't over yet, there's still-"

"Always optimistic, you never lose faith," she said, a dreamy smile on her face. Was she going delirious? "Even… even now. It was always the best part of you Scott."

Was it best to just give in? _There's no way we're getting out of this,_ he thought.

 _No, that's just the quantum realm messing with your head. We can fight this._

 _But she seems so at peace right now, like there's nothing to worry about._

 _This place is manipulating her mind, like it's doing to yours. Don't._

 _What's so bad about that?_ he was vaguely aware that his mind was beginning to succumb to the supernatural of the quantum realm, he wouldn't be able to resist for much longer.

Finally, there was a thought both parts of his mind agreed on for a split second: _Why keep fighting an inevitability? You could join her, finally rest._

So he let go, stopped struggling before he could think better of it, his hand still locked with hers, memories flashing to the forefront of his mind. Waking up in Hank's house to begin his journey as the Ant-Man, Hope teaching him how to punch, communicating with the ants, earning Hope's respect and eventually her love, redeeming himself by making the ultimate sacrifice against Darren Cross, kissing Hope for the first time only to be caught by Hank, the cycle coming full circle when he broke Hank and Hope out of prison with the ants, Hope resuscitating him and kissing him once more, playing with Cassie all those times while he was under house arrest, kissing her goodnight…

 _Cassie_. Oh no, what had he done? How could he just give in like that? A moment of weakness had just cost him his life and meant that Cassie would grow up without a daddy. Why hadn't he fought harder? Now he would never see her again, his life over just like that.

 _I'm sorry, Peanut,_ he thought as his head began to submerge into the void. _At least Maggie and Paxton will be there for you._

His heart heavy with guilt and regret, together, he and Hope caved in to the darkness.

* * *

As Steve Rogers observed his former friend Tony Stark lying prostrate on a Wakandan bed, resting from the brief operation he had undergone, a flurry of emotions encapsulated him, but sadness was the one that stuck out the most.

While he didn't regret saving Bucky, he wished he could have gone about it a different way, at least once the conflict had begun. Hiding the truth about Tony's parents and then damaging his arc reactor before abandoning him were things he wanted to take back every day. Sure, he could say that it was just a matter of conflicting viewpoints in regards to the Accords, but their nonexistent communication for the next two years was all the proof confirming otherwise.

It was personal, every last bit of it.

It left them at the lowest of low points for the conflict they had just fought, disbanded, their team scattered around. With the rest of Earth's heroes, Steve couldn't help but wonder about the outcome if they had still been a working unit once Thanos had arrived, even against the voice that told him to focus on their current situation. If only…

"Steve?" Rhodey returned to the upper level of the medical bay after being reassured of Tony's condition by Shuri.

He nodded to the colonel, filing away his thoughts. "How's he doing?" he asked, his voice sounding neutral.

"Same as before. Probably won't come out of whatever haze he's in for a couple of hours, at the very least. But he's definitely going to make it."

Steve let out a sigh, relieved that he at least wouldn't have another death on his conscience. "Good, we're going to need all the help we can get."

Rhodey must've noticed something tense up with Steve, as he gave him a questioning look. "Steve, I know you two left on horrible terms—understatement really—but we can't have this hanging over us when he wakes up. Whatever tension is between you, him, and the rest of the team can't continue."

"What should I even say to him at this point?" he murmured. "'Sorry for leaving you to die out in Siberia, let's move on?'"

"Well, here's a tip from his lifelong friend. He usually prefers people to be blunt, straight to the point. Acknowledge the events just once, and then focus on reintegrating him back into the swing of things. But you probably thought about doing that already," the colonel told Steve, his voice lowering. "And your situation isn't just any ordinary conflict between friends."

Steve remained staring at the unconscious billionaire, admitting to himself that Rhodey's approach would likely work best. No need to drag things out and make things even more awkward or tense, being direct was the most viable solution. But even that idea had flaws; could they really let bygones be bygones so easily?

 _In a time like this, we'll have to one way or another,_ he thought.

"We'll work it out," he stated simply, before moving to change the subject. "Any word from Bruce yet?"

Rhodey shook his head. "His jet is just over the mid Atlantic right now, I think he's taking it easy."

"Don't blame him, he looked about as sleep deprived as I've seen anyone. He'll be able to track down Scott," he said, trying to sound reassuring.

"Like you said, we need all the allies we can get," he nodded, eyes shifting to the area behind Steve. "Speaking of which…"

Thor strided into the observatory overseeing the medical bay as Rhodey nodded towards him, joining the two men.

"How'd it go with the new arrival?" Steve asked, hoping for some good news.

"Better than I expected, she seemed pretty pissed off at first, but she did tell me a bit about herself," Thor said.

"Did she tell you how she ended up fighting with Tony on whatever planet he got to?" Rhodey questioned.

"No, I was going to nudge her in that direction, but didn't want to risk setting her off," he explained, before giving details. "Her name's Nebula, she was taken in by Thanos at a young age, and she had a stepsister she was close with, who I met briefly. She was pretty cold to me initially, but I think patience is the key in talking to her. She's carrying around a lot of pain."

"Where is she now?" Rogers asked.

"Oh, I left her with the rabbit," Thor said. "Apparently they have some catching up to do."

Thor was right: The two definitely had things to discuss in the years Nebula had no contact with the Guardians.

But it would have to wait until later, as the woman stormed down the ramp towards the medical bay, shaking her head the entire walk. If Thor had to guess, they had probably conversed for a whole thirty seconds, tops.

"I didn't want to have to be the one to tell him," she told the three men, a cold look on her face, heart pounding furiously.

* * *

 **A/N: Thanks for reading guys! Took me a bit to get this chapter out, but it definitely felt worth it. So, now that Scott and Hope fell into whatever abyss they went into, where does the story go from here? Be on the lookout for more chapters to find out, because frankly, even I'm not sure what the endgame is for this story yet. Be sure to follow, fav, review, etcetera, etcetera, all that good stuff, it helps the story a ton, so just do it! ;)**

 **I should be posting Chapter 4 within the next few days, Eastern Standard Time, so until then, farewell readers,**

 **-BasketballIsFun**


	4. Luis and The Wombat

As Bruce Banner rapidly approached the city of San Francisco, Shuri's voice appeared over his earpiece, informing him of the situation.

"Dr. Banner, it is _chaos_ out there, sheer disorder. The citizens are losing their minds, riots are starting, panic increasing, it's very dangerous. I'd recommend bringing some blasters and something bulletproof to be on the safe side. Not to mention, the source of the quantum energy has _moved_ now."

"Moved? Lang must be back now, fleeing the city," Bruce thought out loud.

"No, the energy is stationary for now, still within the borders of San Francisco. My apologies for not noticing the movement earlier, I was preoccupied by the arrival of Tony Stark."

"Wait? Tony's in Wakanda now?"

"Yes, he was in critical condition when he got here, with a blue cyborg carrying him," Shuri explained, quickly trying to dispatch his worries with her next words. "But we treated and stabilized him, he is just resting now. You must find that energy now, Bruce."

"Okay, I will," he replied, a steely determination flowing through him. "I'm only about ten minutes out now, you guys can see everything I can see, right?"

"Yes, we are monitoring the situation and the city closely."

"Good, then it's time for me to get back into the swing of things."

Bruce landed the sleek aircraft on top of a building to avoid suspicion, cloaking the vehicle before leaving. He wished he brought a pilot now to monitor the jet while he did his recon, but now he was just going to have to hope it wouldn't be stolen.

Glancing up at the San Francisco skyline, Banner saw then that Shuri's description of the metropolis hadn't quite emphasized how bad things were. Even from above, he could see numerous signs of gangs, vigilantes, and people lighting vehicles on fire for no benign reason, with no sign of police or any authority whatsoever. The Golden Gate Bridge gleamed in the distance, but not a soul in sight with all the crashed vehicles. It hadn't taken long for the city to collapse amidst Thanos's snap.

It looked like it would be a ghost town soon.

Shaking the apprehension that was reverberating through his veins, Bruce headed down the abandoned building he landed on, wearing a vest and pants with trace amounts of vibranium to enhance its durability, while also carrying a few of Shuri's favorite electrical blasters on hand. Fortunately, it wasn't too far of a walk to the source, only a few city blocks, which was definitely a manageable distance given the obvious lack of traffic.

He stood in front of a two-story building that appeared to be for an office, and Bruce couldn't help but do a double take when he arrived, rechecking the coordinates.

"Okay," he muttered, deciding that this building was at the very least some shelter. "Here goes nothing."

He knocked once, hesitantly, immediately provoking a response, as he heard footsteps bound down stairs. He noticed a peephole open, the person inside scrutinizing Bruce, to gauge if he was a threat. Bruce did the only thing he could think of: stare back.

The person's voice rang out then, giddy and slightly accented. "Alright, Kurt, he looks clean, I'm gonna let him in."

The door opened then, revealing the man who had just spoke. He was Mexican with a thin mustache and a full head of hair, which Bruce secretly envied him for. Being the Hulk for two years hadn't done wonders for his head. He extended his hand out to the Avenger, which he gladly took.

The man began talking in a flurry, Bruce having difficulty keeping up. "Welcome to X-Cons Security Consultants. I'm Luis and up there's Kurt. It's probably been a rough day for you, but here at X-Cons, we're always happy to help, ya know what I'm sayin'? Anyway, what can I get you started with?"

"Oh, uh… right," he said, still a bit flabbergasted at how vocal the man—Luis—was. This was _not_ what he was expecting when he found out another potential ally could be hiding out here. "Listen, could we discuss this inside, it doesn't feel very-"

"Oh yeah, yeah, no doubt. I'm definitely getting a sketchy vibe out here, kind of like the time where my dad met those border officials when he got deported. We'll get you seated right away sir, don't you worry. Step right on in, you can leave your shoes and stuff right over there in the closet, we don't really use it much," Luis told him, pointing him to the right corner of the narrow entrance hall.

"Thanks" was the only word he could find in the moment, questions filling his brain. Who was this guy? How did the quantum energy wind up at his place? He didn't look like the hero type in any sense, more like a quippy sidekick. Or was he someone else entirel-

"Well, he is certainly talkative," Shuri's voice over the earpiece startled Bruce out of his thinking.

"I think you've met your match, Shuri," he mumbled back wearily, following the man upstairs.

She said something back to him, probably to retort his statement, but he didn't hear, distracted by Luis's new ongoing monologue. "… and of course, we lost some muscle recently, Dave was a great guy and all, but we're still glad to be in business, ya know? We might not be able to offer you a full 24/7 watch package between the two of us, but we'll work something out when we get there. For now, you gotta give me some details dude, are we talking about a perimeter, guarding someone in close proximity, or something on the low-low, off the records, that kind of thing? You see, that's the great thing about us, we got that versatility, whatever you can think of, we can provide."

Luis opened the door to his working area, a relatively standard office, nothing eye opening to say the least. Bruce was beckoned to a chair, Luis moving behind his desk, hands folded and clasped in a knot, looking at him expectantly.

Bruce racked his mind for a quick response, something that would get the man on track to get him the info he needed. "Yeah, it uh… it all sounds good and all, but I'm mainly here for someo-something else," he covered at the last second, not wanting to offend the man.

"Oh, for real? Cause you know, we just busted some black market dealers a few weeks, yeah, really shady fellas. We've got experience, and not just from our heists, you dig it? We're pretty _legit_ , got mad connections, and definitely the best in the business. Some people don't even know this, but we helped the save the world a couple times, but it was covered up by the feds. But we're finally getting acknowledged, and you know, I gotta say, it feels kinda weir-"

"Uh, Luis?" a man with a thick Russian accent had interrupted the man before he could continue, much to Bruce's relief. He assumed this was the 'Kurt' he spoke of earlier.

"Kurt, I thought I told you to go watch her and the cameras we just installed, man," Luis didn't miss a beat in his response, he never seemed to falter when talking. _Maybe he's the source of that energy outburst here,_ Bruce thought.

The man shrugged. "Eh, she can handle. Anyway, I don't think this man is client. He looks like one guy I saw in newspapers, what do you call them? Avenger, I think?"

Luis looked at Bruce up and down, his head doing a double take internally from the looks of it, until his identity finally registered. "Oh snap bro, I think you're right. He's that big guy, what do you call him? With the split personality, all mean and green like."

Bruce sighed, glad _someone_ had at least recognized him for who he was. "Yes, I am the green guy Hulk. Also known as Bruce Banner, for what it's worth."

Luis seemed to grow even more ecstatic at the revelation, hopping up from the desk chair and pacing around. "BOOM baby, hot time, this place is about to take off if we've got Avengers coming to us now," he turned to Kurt at this statement. "Just when we thought we couldn't take a step up from working with the great Dr. Pym, now we got this!"

"I like it, great potential," Kurt said simply. "But he no customer Luis."

"Wait," Bruce intervened, having just processed what was said. "Did you say you worked for Dr. Pym, as in the former SHIELD agent Hank Pym?"

"It was short time, but good," Kurt said with a shrug.

"You wouldn't happen to know the Ant-Man, Scott Lang, whose tech was provided by Dr. Pym, would you?" he continued.

"Only like my brotha from another mother, man. Me and Scotty were pretty tight when we met in the big house, but then things really started to heat up when we decided to go on this steal something from Dr. Pym. Course that's when Scotty met him and his really hot daughter Hope, who he really got into it with after they saved the world together, all badass. Now, we were deep into the picture ourselves when they were tryna stay ahead of this dude with a knockoff Ant-Man suit, and we was all like, "We just busted into your place, and you're coming to us? Forreal?" and they were just like, "Forreal." So next thing you know, they got me posing as a security guard, looking all swagged up, and that's when I gave this guy my nasty-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, we don't need to get into that much detail, alright?" Bruce exclaimed, holding his hands up before Luis could finish. "I know how Scott started working with those two, I just need to know where they are right now, _at this moment._ "

"Ohhhh, okay, I gotchu Mr. Banner, but see the thing is, that's a tough question to answer," Luis said, preparing for another long tale. "Cause after Scotty went off to tear up this airport with Captain America, Hope didn't even want to talk to him anymore, no one knew where she was at, until one day Scotty got this subatomic mind link with her momma, super wack cause he was watching his true love as a child playing around a house. Anyway, they kidnap him right before his house arrest's up, and he won't say it straight up, but he's feeling like, "C'mon guys, I'm still being watched by the Feds, they can't see me like this, but I'm still all heartbroken and guilty, so damn it's good to see you guys!" So then after they come to us for the second time, all weirded out by this Ghost lady, they head off to the woods, and that's when things start to get freaky. And I'm not just talking about between Scotty and Hope. Because Scotty actually ends up going through some interdimensional matrix shit, and that's when his mind becomes one with Hope's momma, and that's when he starts telling them how to operate all this quantum stuff. But then the Feds are back on him, and so he has to make a mad push to his house. When he gets back though, his conscience is trying to reach out to him, cause it knows he feels like he let them down and all that. After he got a damn good heart to heart from his daughter, it reminds of that time my cousin Ernesto told me to look up when my girl left me, super straight encouraging facts. Anyway, he breaks them out of that crappy prison the same way Hank did with him, pretty sublime if you ask me, y'know coming full circle and that kind of thing. But then everyone is trying to get Dr. Pym's lab with all his tech and stuff, so then me, Scotty, and Hope form this dynamic trio and band together like the Avengers. Now that's when I give that black market dealer I was telling you about my mean right hook, I noticed you don't like the word nasty, yeah because nasty can trigger some pretty weird thoughts, right? Right away though, things start to look bad, like real bad, but-"

"But then they beat all the bad guys, and won like every other hero we've heard of," Bruce finished, unable to stay quiet any longer once he realized the story wasn't going anywhere. He could hear Shuri and a few Wakandans chuckle mildly in his earpiece, amused by his agony. "Just… can _you_ finish the story quickly, so I can tell mine?" He turned to Kurt, who was apparently very engrossed in Luis's story, standing ramrod and at attention before Bruce addressed him.

"Oh, uh, I'm no good with words, Mr. Avenger," Kurt half stammered, looking at Luis.

"Hey, no problem man, I think I stole the spotlight enough for one day already, you can try to impress the guy too," Luis said cheerfully, motioning for him to continue.

"Okay… okay, so Dr. Pym rescues wife from quantum universe, we all make bigger business after we catch criminals. And Scott kisses girlfriend, also important."

"Wait, that's it?" Bruce asked, relieved that the explanation had been curt, but feeling as though the story wasn't finished.

"Well no, not exactly, that was few weeks ago, now…" Kurt trailed off, looking to Luis, who for once appeared to not know what to say.

"Now we can't find Daddy," a girl who was on the verge of tears had walked out of the back room and into the conversation, stricken with grief.

"Kurt! I told you to stay with her!" Luis whispered frantically, as he rushed to calm her down.

"Who is she?" Bruce whispered, though he was pretty sure he knew already.

"Scott's daughter, Cassie," he replied quietly.

"Scott and Hope have a daughter this old already?" he asked in confusion, now that it was confirmed.

"No, she from previous marriage."

 _Ah. That makes a lot more sense,_ he thought as he watched Luis crouch down and pat her on the shoulders, talking to her gently.

"Hey, Daddy's not gone, he's just… busy right now. Hey, I promise, you'll be safe with us."

The tone in his voice was clear; these guys had no idea where Scott was. For an instant, Bruce considered leaving, though he pushed away the idea, given that Luis was comforting Scott's distraught daughter at the moment. He couldn't help but wonder: Did this mean Scott was gone too? Maybe. _But then why would Shuri's device…_

Once Luis had managed to keep Cassie in check with a few dumb jokes and a heartfelt hug, settling her into a chair behind the desk, Bruce decided to speak up. He didn't want to waste any more time.

"Listen, guys, do you or do you not know where Scott Lang or anyone else associated with him is right in this moment? Honestly," he asked, meeting each of their eyes.

"Well, you see, it all started when they took my van-"

"ENOUGH OF YOUR STORIES!" Bruce yelled, and he could hear some Hulk in his voice. _This_ had frightened them all, especially Cassie, who proceeded to dart underneath the desk, whimpering. Kurt's mouth gaped open, frozen in place, while Luis become noticeably unsettled. Seeing this, he willed himself back to normal, the green fading from his skin. "Sorry, it's… with the world the way is right now, time is essential, we need every bit of intel we can get. If there's _anything_ else you can tell me that happened within the past day or so that would clue us into Scott's location, tell us. Please."

"You-you never told us what happened with… with your st-story," Kurt trembled, still having not regained his composure from the Hulk outburst.

Bruce nodded, deciding it was only fair since he had just snapped at them while channeling one of the strongest beings in the galaxy. "We were fighting a being named Thanos who collected these things called Infinity Stones," he paused, waiting for an interruption from Luis, but surprisingly none came. "He had five of them and an army we defeated in Wakanda, thanks to Thor. The last stone was in our android Vision's head. We tried to stop him, but… he got it, snapped his fingers, and half of all life in the universe vanished into dust."

The room had a tense mood after Banner's take on the events that had led to the universe's demise at the hand of the Titan. Luis furrowed his eyebrows in thought, his face sagging slightly, Kurt seemed to enter a catatonic state, and Cassie's eyes widened, her lip quivering, the whole thing sounding like a horror movie come true to her.

"Okay," Luis eventually said. "Okay. We'll tell you our side of the story. Condensed."

Bruce gave a nod, indicating him to go on. "Scotty and the Pyms took my van, said they needed a base of operations for some tests they were going to run. A few hours, all I see are cars crashing, planes burning, it was the worst day ever. Ever, ever," Luis paused. "I called up Kurt who said he saw Dave vanish by the power of gypsies, told him I saw the same thing. Rushed up Dr Pym's lab Scotty said they'd be working on top of, only found the dust all spread out with the wind. I shrank down my van, waited till the streets were clear before taking the lab with me, told Kurt to call Scotty's ex, only she answered." He pointed to Cassie then, who merely nodded at the mention.

"So… that's it?" Bruce asked, failing to keep remnants of frustration out of his voice. "I mean, there was no sign of Scott at all, no indication of anyone even? Not even some sort of quantum energy?"

"Sorry bossman, that's all we have," Kurt said, making the slightest of eye contact with Luis as he spoke.

"Yeah man, they left nothing but a couple of car sets and my van. But hey, no worries, if we see anything else," Luis winked at Kurt discreetly then, "we'll tell you."

"Well… okay then," the Avenger sighed out of exhaustion before handing Luis a card. He just wanted to leave and be done with it by then. "If you see or hear anything else, give us a call, alright?"

"For sure man, we'll keep in touch. Don't worry about it, we're professionals, remember?" Luis replied giddily.

"Yeah, I got that the first five times you said it," he said, getting up to shake their hands. As he drew close, Bruce whispered quietly to the men, "Take good care of her guys, she's going to need someone to look up to with her daddy gone." _Or at least don't drive her crazy with your long winded stories._

They both nodded in compliance, Luis unable to resist speaking up. "Of course man, I've always been good with kids, you know?"

He then moved to Cassie, who had some sort of aura to her, a strong resolve from the way she looked right in his eyes, bent but far from broken. But maybe she was just putting on a strong front for one of Earth's heroes. After all, she had just been crying a few minutes ago. Still, Banner figured he didn't need to say much, he simply put two hands on her shoulders and told her to strong while they searched for her daddy.

She nodded her head; two simple words being uttered in response. "I will."

Bruce headed back out to the city then, after checking to ensure the streets were relatively free of violence. Still, he kept the armor on as a precaution, given that the sun was starting to recede into the night for a city that seemed on the verge of anarchy hours ago. As he finished bundling up the stairs of the abandoned building to the top where his aircraft was parked, he decided to speak of the confusing conversation he had with the two men.

"Those two were certainly interesting to say the least."

"Gosh, are all Americans secretly like this in their spare time? Just talking on and on with no purpose?" Shuri said jokingly.

"Guess it's just in his nature," Bruce said, his mind drifting to how true her words were. "That was a pretty big waste of time."

"Well, they were able to confirm the suspicions that Scott and his associates were gone. Sufficient information in of itself. I have a feeling though, they may yet still hold useful intel."

"You think they didn't tell us everything?"

"Not necessarily in that sense. Sometimes the answer is right in front of you, but you just can't grasp it until you put the pieces together. Maybe something will come to them in a few days. But if they _were_ withholding something from us, it would be logical on their part. Why reveal your whole deck in the first hand?"

Bruce gave that theory some thought before shaking his head wistfully. "I don't know Shuri, you heard the guy, he seemed willing to spill his guts just fine, looks like he's said everything he knows."

"We shall see," Shuri said simply.

Bruce dropped the topic entirely after that, as he set in on Hawkeye's whereabouts, hoping he could come out of this ordeal with at least one more Avenger.

* * *

" _I didn't want to have to be the one to tell him."_

A silence reverberated through the observatory area of the medical bay—a recurring theme for this group—Nebula willing her stoic face to not crack as Thor, Steve, and Rhodey all exchanged stares with her, processing what she had just said.

"Well, what do you mean?" Thor asked in return, noticing the apprehension of the other two in talking to the woman. "What did you tell the rabbit?"

"What do you think?" she replied coldly, her face slackening ever so slightly at the words. "I told him all his friends were dead."

Being the leader that he was, Steve finally decided to engage her, carefully choosing his words. "Hey, it's okay," he said calmly. "It's been a bad day for everyone. If you want, we can get you situated first if you don't want to talk about it…"

Nebula stared daggers at Steve for his dismissal of her words, her metal jawline clenching in frustration. "Did you not hear what I said, Terran?" she hissed with ferocity.

"Yes, I did," he replied, maintaining the even tone of his voice. "Do you want to talk about it then?"

Nebula snorted at the offer, _talking_ about the hopeless situation wouldn't help one bit. "Forget it," she snarled, turning on her heel to leave. But she wound up bumping directly into Natasha Romanoff, who recoiled against the impact of the augmented woman.

"Sorry. Didn't know there was a cyborg here," the Black Widow said jokingly while getting up, looking at the woman up and down as if to make sure she was real.

It took all of Nebula's self restraint to stop herself from maiming the former agent with one of the deadly instruments imbedded in her fingers. She merely gave another one of her patented death glares before revealing the implanted, precise weapons. The whole group was on edge at this, but they had no weapons themselves in the moment, except for Thor, who didn't want to set off Nebula even more by calling Stormbreaker.

"I am not a cyborg," she said, venom in her voice as she looked at the four heroes. "I am an enemy of Thanos who wants to destroy every remnant of his existence and I will work with you." She retracted her implants at the statement, but this did little to dissuade the Avengers' suspicions.

"But that doesn't mean I have to put up with this," she added curtly, before storming away from the group and ascending the ramp to the main level of the building.

"Well, that was quite the exit," Natasha said, a frown appearing momentarily.

"Yeah, she doesn't really like us right now," Rhodey said with a sheepish smile.

"I'll be sure to keep my distance," the agent replied goodheartedly, but her voice wavered slightly anyhow.

Thor shook his head at the turn of events, everything that could've possibly gone wrong had happened. He knew he would have to mend some fences before the tension escalated further. He got the feeling that both of them needed their space right now, but he certainly couldn't just stand around and waste time bantering. Stark had been stabilized, since that was clear, he had no reason to remain in the underground medical bay.

"I'm going to head upstairs," he announced. "Maybe ease her up a bit, or at least find Rocket. See you guys around."

After the Asgardian made his exit, the three of them turned their attention to the prostrate Tony Stark lying on a metallic bed once more. He looked almost peaceful in this state, like the carefree billionaire playboy of before, before the prospect of aliens and Infinity Stones was considered even a remote possibility. But now… after all the torment and mental imagery, they couldn't help but wonder if Stark could come back from this, if he still had the will to avenge half the universe. Physical trauma was one thing, as most scars would eventually fade. The PTSD on the other hand, _that_ would linger for a longer period of time, probably for the rest of Tony's life given the atrocities he-well all of them-had suffered. Still, Tony was the most stubborn man they knew, they all saw the will he displayed for better or worse. And even if he had no one else left to live for—which wasn't true since Pepper was still alive—he would always fight.

"Doc give you an ETA on when he'll wake up?" Natasha asked, breaking the two soldiers out of their hazy gazes at the unconscious futurist.

"Probably not for a day or so, maybe a little earlier," Rhodey replied, giving her a look. "What's on your mind?"

She didn't answer his question, instead countering with a question of her own. "You know what I saw the day we fought over those stupid Accords?" The two men shook their heads. "I saw a lot of people with strong moral values and ideologies, all fighting for the wrong reasons. A useless divide when both channels of the river lead to the same lake eventually. And what I saw in him in particular, was a man who kept trying to rectify past mistakes, but only dug himself a bigger grave. Good intentions and all."

Steve nodded, the words all too familiar. "I get what you're saying Nat. I've had the same thoughts cross my mind for the past two years, days of getting lost in that thinking. Looking back now, it all seems so far away, so irrelevant compared to what we're facing now. And I'm sure Tony's had the same thoughts." His eyes went glossy when mentioning Stark's name. "We'll just have to make amends now, put aside whatever differences we had. For everyone's sake."

"I just hope there's something left to salvage when this is all over. Something other than division and conflict," she replied with a note of sadness.

"We'll get there. One step at a time for now though," Steve replied, images of his last encounter with Tony resurfacing again. _The shield, the secrets, vengeance, protecting Bucky and losing everything…_

"Steve?" Rhodey waved a hand to him. "We're heading upstairs now, need to… strategize for that press conference some more."

"That reminds me, how _did_ you get that press conference?" Romanoff remarked. "Weren't you issued a court martial after not arresting us?"

"Given the state of the world, the media figures they need some sort of comforting presence at the moment," he replied with a shrug. "By the way, have you made a decision on that yet?"

"I think I'll pass. The press can handle one enemy of the public, but two might be pushing it."

"Okay, looks like it'll just be us two then. Steve, you coming?"

He considered his options briefly: he could either continue staring at Tony for several hours or he could work on clearing his name amongst the public, the whole PR aspect of the fallout. The choice was pretty clear.

"Yeah, let's go," he replied, giving Stark one last glance before heading up with his fellow Avengers.

* * *

 **A/N: Sorry for this chapter coming out a bit later than expected! I was having a bit of writer's block, just trying to write decent dialogue and whatnot. This was the Luis chapter if you will, hope you guys enjoyed my spin on the best MCU character ever implemented. Not much progress made in this chapter, despite the length, this one's a bit more filler. Might end up rewriting it in the future tbh.**

 **If you enjoyed it anyway, make sure you all review, follow, fav, share, and whatever else to help the story, because it helps a great deal for my self esteem and publicity. :P Also, if you have any ideas for future chapters, you can PM me with suggestions, I listen to every one! Next chapter will feature some Luis, Scott/Hope, and possibly Tony waking up depending on if I want to do a couple hour time jump. Until then,**

 **-BasketballIsFun**


	5. Unexpected Company

**A/N: School is a pain, university especially when it comes to interfering with your Fanfic upload schedule. Not sure if much else needs to be said other than a quick shoutout to Squidoverlord for his consistent reviews. Appreciate it, along with all the others who leave reviews of their own.**

* * *

A notable tension in the room seemed to deflate once that Avenger left the building. It had reached its peak when Luis and Kurt had a brief glimpse of the Hulk lurking within the man, neither one of them wanting to risk further agitating the beast inside. Especially when there was also an eleven year old child in the room. It surprised them both that they were able to withhold what they did from one of Earth's defenders, but after a few hours, the gravity of their actions began to sink in.

"Dude! Did we just lie to a freaking Avenger?" Kurt cried out once Luis escorted Cassie back to the security office to watch the monitors again.

"Uh, yeah, we just did!" Luis replied, breaking out into a grin out of habit like a kid at a carnival. "Hey man, don't worry about it. I mean, not like he's gonna go looking for us anyway. Besides, we can handle this, 's no big deal."

"We are out of depth here!" he retorted, a sense of hysteria coming over him. "That man was manageable, but what about when others come?"

Luis bit his lip for a moment, his bright demeanor wavering slightly. They were regarded asassociates of Scotty's prior to his Accords violation, would people come for him and Kurt? His eyes flickered to the TV they had recently purchased thanks to their new influx of clients, reports of further casualties and anarchy in the aftermath of the 'dusting'—as the newscaster called it—almost fourteen hours prior.

 _Nah_ , _they got a full plate of problems to chew on for now._

"If they see through our lies…" Kurt reiterated, head in his hands. "What were we thinking?"

"Well… you remember how Scotty was when we first visited him after Germany, right? He just wouldn't stop talking about it, and that's coming from _me,_ " Luis proclaimed. "Anyway, the one thing that stood out for me was his vendetta against Tony Stark."

"Vendetta?" Kurt repeated, puzzled by the idea. Scott was never really one to hold grudges, at least in the time he'd known him.

"Yeah man, though that was probably because he didn't talk to him in prison like those other dudes they picked up. So, Scotty tells me 'you can never trust a Stark' and—here's the clincher—that he and Dr. Pym would never let the suit fall into his hands. I couldn't just turn over the man's life work to one of Stark's guys Kurt, I had to respect their last wishes."

"How do you know he is Stark's guy?" Kurt asked, his face creasing in thought. "What, he gave you a list?"

"Uh yeah, actually, he did," Luis admitted with a sheepish smile to boot, trying to recall that conversation he had with Scott.

"Dude! Seriously, what's our play here?"

"Well, security's gonna be at all time high premium rate now with half the world gone, we don't really have to do anything. In terms of business, we've been dealt the best hand of our lives man, even better than that one I had in Rio way, way back. We'll be the, uh, coincidental beneficiaries in the midst of an unfortunate worldwide crisis."

"So you want to stay here after all that? When outside, the city is set for D-Day?!"

"Hey man, normally I'd agree with you, but we've never had to account for a kid in all this before!" Luis said, turning his gaze to Cassie who was fiddling with the security feeds in one of the back rooms.

"I know, but…" Kurt got up as he uttered the words, beckoning Luis to follow as they walked towards a closet. The shrunken Pym lab and Luis's van with the quantum tunnel installed sat in front of them, the controls to manipulate sizes intact. "How long do you think we can keep this secret?"

"You're right, Scotty wouldn't want this stuff to be taken," Luis said, gears turning as he racked his mind for a solution. "Okay, okay, I'll lay out my new plan for you: We leave at the first sight of trouble man, simple at that."

Kurt couldn't help the slight snicker that came out of his mouth, keeping it simple was never Luis's forte, whether it be with his long-winded stories that often didn't amount to much, his record being defaced by result of a failed smoothie machine heist, or simply the way he went about his daily life, just _being_ Luis.

 _Oh Baba Yaga, if Luis is 'keeping things simple' now, the world is at its end,_ Kurt thought with a shudder.

"Kurt? You good man?" Luis was eyeing him with a look of skepticism and slight worry, as if he had said too little initially.

"Oh, yeah, yeah, glad we could agree," he replied simply, his concern while wavering, was still present. "Sorry, it's getting late, I should get rest."

"Alright, you do you, man. I'll busy catching up on some reading!" Luis proclaimed, reaching behind his back to reveal a book called _Parenting In Unexpected Situations._

" _Why_ do you have that?" Kurt asked quizzically.

"My old girl got it for me. Was with her for a month or so whe-"

Suddenly, an alarm made a wooping noise throughout the building, interrupting what seemed to be a lighthearted story that would alleviate some tension. The three Wombats had opted to upgrade their security after the incident with Sonny Burch, opting to spring for some security coded access panels for entry to the second floor, as well as a lockdown feature which was still a work in progress. Recordings of Luis's voice issuing a warning was projected through the area, more to just throw off potential burglars with his way of words.

"That didn't take long."

Luis's words were brief, but had managed to snap both of them out of their stupor. The two rushed into the security room to retrieve Cassie. A security feed displayed some stragglers gathering around the building's door, arming themselves with whatever was available, which ranged from bricks, crowbars, batons likely stolen from police, silverware, and even a pair of scissors rose among the small group. It wouldn't be long before the mob found their way inside, even with upgraded fiberglass windows impeding their path.

"Uncle Luis, what's going on?" Cassie asked with a whimper, her lip quivering with fear.

"Cassie, don't worry, Uncle Luis is just having a friendly disagreement with those little men down there," Luis said as soothingly as he could muster.

She shook her head, not buying it. It tended to slip their minds that despite how innocent and cute she was, Cassandra Lang was eleven years old, and a smart one too for that matter. "They look like the same men my daddy fought, they weren't friendly when he was Ant-Man."

"Your daddy beat them real good though, right? With his suit to disappear and-" Luis paused, realizing he had found the solution to their problem before he even had to confirm it in his mind. "Cassie, you're a genius! We're getting out of here, I got an idea!"

He ran off to grab the lab and miniature van with the controls, placing it at the back of their main office space before enlarging it. They were going to need as much runway as possible to pull off the jump that was to come. A countertop along with a supporting beam for the building was torn during the transformation, but that was hardly a concern in the moment. Tossing the lab in the back, Luis motioned for Kurt and Cassie to get in, handing the remote to the former as he got in.

"When we smash through that wall, flick the switch before we hit the street," he explained, before igniting the engine and flooring the gas. Screams induced with adrenaline and fear coursed through the three of them as they tore through the infrastructure of the building into a darker night.

Rumours surfaced later regarding the car shaped hole that appeared in the wall of a small second floor office building, with no evidence of the vehicle touching the ground after the supposed jump, but there wasn't a credible eyewitness in sight who could ever explain the phenomena.

* * *

Scott startled into consciousness upon a ticklish sensation on his nose. Weary and still feeling the aftereffects of overexposure to the quantum realm, it took him five tries to begrudgingly force his eyes open to accustom himself to… wherever he was now.

 _Am I—are we dead?_ The thought came to him in a brief moment of utter despair as this environment was nothing like anything he had seen in his short time in the quantum realm. Which, okay, wasn't much at all, considering his initial experience was a few minutes tops and he hadn't really seen much his second go around either. The small glimpse of the dimension he had witnessed so far had all looked the same to him, the experience once again likely overwhelming his mind with the supernatural.

Still, it felt somehow… _different_ where he was now, he wasn't sure how outside of an instinctive gut reaction. It didn't seem quite as daunting as the quantum realm itself, as he didn't quite feel like his sanity was being hung by a thread. Still, his panic was a more than viable substitute for the quantum realm's manipulation of the mind. Scott took deep breaths to try and steady himself, although Hank did inform him that breathing was more of a formality in the quantum realm based off of his wife's experience. He was smaller than the very atoms that air and its elements were comprised of, essentially being just pure energy himself.

In an effort to wash away dark prospects of bleak futures of nothingness, Scott focused on his current situation, dissecting the events of the day, assuming it had only been a day since he and Hope— _Hope, where was she?_ —had made the biggest mistake of their lives. His heart ached with guilt to last a few lifetimes at the memory of him convincing Hank to allow her to tag along. _A simple mission,_ they had said. _In and out._ And of course he, Scott Lang, being the efficiency driven man he was, evident when he had tampered with his regulator's unknown forces three long years ago so it wouldn't 'hold him back', had the brilliant idea to allow the two of them to trapped for the price of one trip.

God, somehow he always ended up making the wrong decision to hurt the ones he cared about most. Jail was a first and it had pained him to see how much Cassie loved him at his worst. Germany was quite literally rock bottom at the Raft when he barely even registered a thought about Hank and Hope's wellbeing, but this might've topped them all. Now, he had needlessly pulled both of them into a life sentence in the subatomic region, leaving Hank and Janet defenseless against whoever they had fought against on the surface. He wondered with a brief shudder how long it would take him and Hope to lose all coherent thought and not even be aware of it.

 _Hope, I need to find Hope,_ was the only thing his brain could come up in the moment. And it certainly was the thing he needed, in more ways than one. If he was alive (he was alive, right?) after being sucked into that vortex with her, she couldn't be far. It was the least he could do for screwing things up.

When he tried to kick out his legs to move forward, he found them immobilized by some unseen force, though he found the rest of his body could still rotate around, only his legs remained in place, as if a load of cinderblocks rested upon them.

Figures. Apparently, the quantum realm—if that was his current location—was imprisoning those who even ventured upon the dimension. Even the _illusion_ of escape was nothing more than a façade now.

Scott did his best to keep a level head under this new duress, craning his head around to fully take in his surroundings for the first time, eyes searching for anything of significance at this point to distract him. The atmosphere of this new domain was shimmering a dark hue of green, oddly shaped sparkling symbols of orange whizzing past him on occasion as he took in the view.

Suddenly, the realm seemed to shift, as some symbols began to engulf him in even brighter rings of green. Before Scott could make anything of it, the scenery changed once more, the background shifting to a scene that looked straight out of a movie. He might as well have been in an Imax theatre though, considering the event he was watching play out had no bounds. No matter which way he looked, he was still bearing witness to whatever this was unfolding.

A strange man who wore a gleaming necklace of what seemed to be some durable alloy of metal crossed his arms, holding three fingers in the air before moving them back down to his sides. Scott gasped involuntarily when the necklace opened to reveal a glowing green stone that had shined even more vibrantly than the green realm he was just in moments ago. The green rings that had surrounded him now covered the man, as he seemed to exert some sort of energy on the apple in front of him, consuming it before making it whole once more.

It was jaw dropping when watching the man take it a step further, as he inexplicably plucked two pages of what looked to be an ancient spellbook out of nowhere. As the man performed a ritual of some sort, mirrors began to surface in the room, which frightened Scott enough that he almost forgot he was merely a spectator in the moment.

Scott only grew more befuddled as two men entered the room dressed in similar garb—all three were wearing robes of some sort—to scold the one wielding the necklace's power. Abruptly, as if the dimension was editing the event like a movie clip, Scott could hear parts of the conversation that ensued between the men as the scene began to fade away for some unexplainable reason.

"You weren't manipulating the space-time continuum, you were breaking it."

"Temporal manipulations can create branches in time!"

"We do not tamper with natural law. We defend it."

"Spatial paradoxes! Time loops!"

As he heard these final words, Scott tried to comprehend what he had just seen. That man was affecting time somehow with that necklace? What were the consequences of doing it? Those green rings, were they a sign that Scott was now literally trapped in the space-time continuum itself? Who were those men considering they seemed human? And most importantly of all, _why_ was he shown all that?

Before he could even ponder an answer to all his questions, the scenery reverted back to the hues of green with the glistening rings passing by once more. Something had changed though, he sensed it, and sure enough, he was able to move around, the apparent weight on his legs removed.

Simultaneously, an unseeable barrier seemed to break right in front of him, and Scott's eyes widened with an emotion that could only be described pure, unadulterated joy as Hope seemed to materialize out of nowhere before him. He could tell she was having similar feelings at the sight of him, even with her having her suit on, just from the way her eyes seemed to light up in comparison to her glazed, timid look moments prior.

They closed the space between the two of them quickly, neither of them wanting to let go of the other, especially after even just what Scott perceived to be a half hour tops of separation. Eventually, they broke the embrace to compose themselves.

"Hope I thought I had…" Scott couldn't bring himself to finish the sentence as he could feel the waterworks threatening to flow down his cheeks. She nodded with a similar sentiment, her hard resolve breaking in the moment, the two of them hugging once more, tears being shed more freely.

"We're here now Scott, both of us," Hope said after their initial wave of feelings subsided, her voice laced with emotion. The only other time Scott had heard her voice break like that was when Janet had finally returned from the quantum realm. He wanted nothing more than to remove both their helmets and kiss her right then, but he didn't want to risk their bodies being overwhelmed with subatomic radiation, so he held off the thought.

"I… I know," he replied tentatively, before trying to shift the mood with his next words. "You know, it never really hit me just how true the whole 'safety in numbers' idea was until now."

Hope smiled at the quip, taking his hand in hers as if to remind them both that this was _real._ That against all odds, they had survived like the ineradicable insects they donned. They were still in this together for some benign reason.

Call it fate, destiny, divine intervention, the will of the universe; whatever it was, Scott was glad for it.

"When we were… apart," Hope began apprehensively, sounding unsure of what had transpired on her end for that period of time. Scott knew the topic would come up. "Did you see a… vision of some sort? Guys in robes that looked like they belonged to a cult?"

Scott allowed himself a slight smile at her description, apparently his banter was rubbing off on her. "Yeah, weird, like this place was trying to tell us som-"

A burst of green began to converge upon a point just in front of them, and with it came a notable shift in the area. The scenery flickered back to the black of the quantum realm with the green being compacted into that one area. Scott looked towards Hope for some rational explanation for what was happening, but she merely returned his look of apprehension while steadily nudging the two of them back from the swirling green vortex that surfaced.

A figure finally became noticeable in the midst of the green and as the being moved forward, the colour being released through the realm once more. The two of them gasped as the person's identity was discernible.

It was the very same man they had both seen wielding the necklace, and he exuded an unflappable aura of confidence. The necklace was gone though, replaced by a regal red cape that only added to his level of badassery in Scott's mind. Still, something seemed… off about the man though, even if he was standing before him. He looked as though he was transparent, a ghost of some sort. Hope seemed to mirror his suspicions, assuming a fighting stance in case of conflict. Scott decided it'd be best to assert themselves first, in case the man was a threat.

"Hey man look, I'm a believer that life's full of coincidences and all, but you showing up right after we just saw some video showing how you're some all powerful wizard isn't all that promising. Kind of a bad omen. Tell us the whys and hows now, and we'll reconsider," he said with a loud, stern voice. He couldn't remember the last time he had used that kind of tone.

"You know that I'm a Master of the Mystic Arts?" the man replied, with a genuine tone of surprise and some disbelief.

"If that means wizard then yeah, this place keeps tabs on everyone apparently."

"Interesting, the stone never foretold…" the man didn't finish, his eyes glazing over at the thought of whatever he was about to speak of.

He regained his composure quickly though, looking intently at Scott. "I assure you, I mean you no harm by my presence here. I'm Dr. Stephen Strange, and Scott Lang, I'm asking for your… wait, who is that with you?" He seemed puzzled by Hope's presence.

"I'm surprised you don't know her when you already have _my_ name, we're a package deal being Ant-Man and the Wasp!" Scott exclaimed, to which Hope added, "Smooth, Scott, smooth."

"Wasp?" Strange repeated, as he started to put things together. "Then you must be..."

"Hope Van Dyne, largely known for violating the Accords and hiding out with my father, Hank Pym, former chairwoman of the now dissolved Pym Technologies," she finished, as if she had the introduction memorized like the back of her hand.

"Of course, Hope," he replied with a shake of his head. "I did not foresee this outcome, the time stream may have been inconspicuously altered, but there must be another… now that the endgame is upon us."

"Uh, could you explain what you mean by all that? Preferably not in cryptic riddles?" Scott asked, wondering if this was how the man always spoke.

"Let's just say that Hope's survival wasn't a variable I had taken into consideration in my manipulation of events to save the universe."

 _Hope's survival? Saving the universe?_ The two were ready to bombard questions at Strange, starting with how Scott apparently was the key to saving the universe over Hope. The sorcerer held up two shaking hands to stop the onslaught, hoping they would yield.

"I don't much time, I'll explain what I can before I must leave," Strange informed them, watching Scott and Hope carefully to see if they were listening to the words he would have to offer.

Words he may or may not have to utter to ensure the possibility of a restored universe. Words that had a miniscule chance (but still a chance) of causing the survivors to deviate from the endgame he had so meticulously plotted out. Words that would could make, break, or have no effect at all on the outcome. He hesitated for a moment. Was this the right thing to do? Was he even supposed to play a role after the initial defeat?

It was hard determining when and when not to act without the clairvoyance of the time stone, especially with the weight of half of the universe resting upon these actions. Really, really hard.

* * *

 **Of course I had to include Dr. Strange, no fanfic is truly complete without a sorcerer and glowing magic. Could've put Captain Marvel in his place which would make a lot of sense, but I'm honestly not sure how to portray her character if I'm being honest. I'm avoiding all trailers and most spoilers like the plague which doesn't help. I'll find a role for her in this fic though. I probably could've kept Scott and Hope together for this duration of the chapter, but I like writing angst (even if I'm bad at it). More updates in Wakanda next time, and although Avengers 4 is the endgame like it's been said so many times by now, we're only in the beginning of it so far with this story. Much more to come. Hopefully, it won't take a month for next chapter to come out, I've got it planned out, but execution's never been my strong suit.**

 **Anyway, thanks for reading and be sure to follow, fav, and leave a review if you can, all that surely puts a smile on my face. Until next time,**

 **-BasketballIsFun**


	6. Reunions All Around

It was going to be difficult locating Rocket in his current state, Thor knew that, but he couldn't allow the rabbit to wallow in his sorrows for long. He was only returning the favor for how the creature had consoled him before Nidavellir. Not to mention that Thor felt as though he didn't really… connect with the Avengers at the moment. He could sense the unspoken rift within Earth's mightiest heroes, had picked up on it when Stark returned and the air in the room changed—not because of him for once. He never would've guessed even with the foreboding Maximoff girl's vision that he would return to Midgard under such conditions.

The hallways were eerily quiet now that the situation had settled after Thanos's godforsaken snap. Thor's fists clenched in anger at the thought of the Titan's actions, and he could already sense the lightning crackling from his fingertips. The Warriors Three, Lady Sif, Heimdall, Odin, _Loki_ , all dead, the destruction of Asgard, his people crippled to near extinction at the hands of Hela and Thanos… At least Valkyrie and the others were safe, away from the onslaught. But then it hit him: Would Thanos's culling affect the already halved Asgardians? When he told Rocket on the pod he had nothing left to lose, they both knew he was putting on a strong face, that there was _always_ something more to lose if you were willing to fight. Losing another half of his already endangered people, being driven one step closer to extinc… He refused to acknowledge the grim possibility, shut it out of his mind.

He contemplated summoning the Bifrost then and there to search the cosmos for what remained of the survivors, seeing that they likely didn't make it too far from the twenty-two clicks they had distanced themselves from Asgard's destruction when Thanos arrived. He decided to hold off on it for the time being. Drifting through the building, Thor forced his thoughts to shift elsewhere.

 _Wakanda,_ they had called it. Thor was impressed by the place; their technology didn't quite match up to Asgardian standards, though he could tell it was light years beyond what the rest of Midgard had to offer. The vibranium metal that was the foundation of the kingdom had some otherworldly properties of its own from what he'd seen. It wasn't as strong as the uru from which Stormbreaker was forged, but it certainly compensated for that with its diverse utility whether in battle or by innovating technology used on a daily basis.

The few Wakandan warriors prowling the area gave him a wide berth, stealing subtle glances when they thought he wasn't looking. Thor didn't mind, because although Midgard knew of his exploits, he was apparently a very polarizing figure to meet in person, and that was _before_ he had tapped into his new potential and forged Stormbreaker. Besides, he didn't want to diverge from the task at hand.

It took the better part of an hour, but Thor finally managed to track down Rocket in one of the more secluded areas of the building, brooding on a much too lavish bed. He noticed the rabbit had already blew off some steam judging from the carnage, a broken lamp and disintegrated table. Rocket's back was turned to him, and the creature showed no signs of wanting to talk. Luckily for Thor, he himself was in this position countless times during his younger days, and he knew the perfect remedy to get someone to open up. He walked over and sat next to him, the rabbit noticing his presence for the first time.

"Tell me you weren't standing there the whole time," Rocket said, a much more vulnerable hitch to his voice than Thor had heard before.

He shook his head. "No, I only just got here. Was wandering around the place—it really is too big—happened to notice you looked like you needed some company."

"Alright, what do you want then?" he questioned, a hint of exasperation entering Rocket's voice.

"Thought you could use a drink," he said with a shrug, revealing the liquor he had swiped earlier from a cabinet in the kitchen, which earned him a slight smirk from the rabbit. "On Asgard, I normally resorted to alcohol to take my mind off things until the more recent part of my life, figured the same applied for most beings throughout the realms."

"Well, you're damn right it does!" Rocket exclaimed, snatching the bottle from his hand and beginning to chug. "I like you, Thor, you really understand people, you know that?"

"Oh, don't stress it Rocket, after all, that's what friends do," Thor said with a smile.

"Still, I figured you'd be hanging out with your good ol' Avenger buddies by now."

"Well, you remember me saying I'd been away from the team for a while?" Rocket nodded. "Appears they've had some sort of Midgardian conflict, don't really know the details, but regardless… I don't really where I stand with them aside from the battle anymore."

Rocket snorted in response. "I'll bet. Humies can be real petty. I would know being around that jackass Quill-"

Rocket froze when he blurted out the name of his now deceased teammate. Thor gave him a consoling look that he knew would likely be in vain now. It would be harder to reach the rabbit with the guilt weighing on his conscience.

Still, he tried anyway. "Rocket, you cannot blame yourself for what Thanos did. I've heard the same thing myself a lot today, and I'm the one who let my desire for revenge to blind me. _You_ though, you fought valiantly, as well as a being of your decree could. It's nobody's fault but that madman's in the grand scheme of things."

"Fought valiantly? I was the one who wouldn't show my face when Thanos came, that's why I went with you to Nidavellir! Your Avenger buddies did, hell even Groot did when they were outmatched!" Rocket yelled in a self loathing tone before slumping his shoulders. Suddenly, the liquor wasn't that enticing to him. "I ain't got the mindset of a hero, even after I joined the Guardians. I was always a coward who saved his own butt first, everything I do has an ulterior motive!"

 _Oh._ That was why he was beating himself up. Though Thor frowned internally for a moment at this, he was glad he was getting honesty from Rocket. Now, he just needed to find the words to put the rabbit at ease, something that would reduce his feeling of inadequacy.

"Just because you didn't challenge Thanos doesn't mean you deserve this, Rocket. _Any of it._ Again, you did what you thought was your best in battle, and your fear is justified. Thanos could've slain us all right then and there, you had no way of knowing he wouldn't."

"I still could've tried," he said with a sigh. "I… just don't know what to do, Groot's been with me forever, the rest of the Guardians were my only family ever. Nothing's keeping me here, but I can't just go back to being a jackass who takes dirty jobs and drinks to Xandar and back. I just… feel lost Thor."

"Whatever path you choose to take after this, just know that I'll be here for you, Rocket," He put a reassuring hand on the creature's back to go with the words. Feeling bold, he decided that he would try giving him something to hang onto, even if it was just a spark. "But… you know, if we could get the gauntlet, maybe we could bring them back. We could-"

"Just stop! Stop right now, man!" Rocket slammed his paw on the bed at the proposition. "Don't do that, right now I-I'm just gonna have to accept I'm stuck with Nebula. You still have your Avenger guys here, don't push em away. Because at least you have someone."

The last part came out in almost a hushed whisper, the words hanging in the air. Soon, Rocket got up abruptly, handing the unfinished bottle back to Thor. "I… gotta head out, place still makes me feel all cramped up. City looks nice though, I'll go check it out," Rocket said in his serious voice, before giving Thor a soft look. "Listen Thor, I appreciate your help and all that, but it's as simple as the fact that I don't belong here with the rest of you. I ain't leaving yet, but if we're just trying to get people to calm down here, there's no reason for me to stay."

Thor nodded solemnly at this, choosing to accept what Rocket said. "I understand," was all he could say.

The rabbit nodded in thanks before turning for the door. Suddenly, an idea hit Thor like one of his lightning bolts. "Wait!" he exclaimed, making Rocket jump up in surprise.

"Your ship is here, right? With all communication systems intact?" he asked urgently.

"I haven't had the chance to check yet, but why do you— _ohhhhh_ ," he said, realization of Thor's idea dawning on him.

"You heard our first distress signal. The Asgardians, my people, maybe I can get a message to them in turn."

* * *

It didn't take long for Bruce to arrive at the farmhouse once Clint relayed its coordinates. He hadn't really paid attention to the trip he made with the rest of the team three years ago to this place. _Three years, had it really been so long?_ He shook his head, still mystified by the turn of events while he was locked away in his alter ego on an alien planet. Steve and Nat had explained the logistics of their Civil War and the new Accords while they were on the Quinjet to Wakanda, but it was bare bones, right to the point kind of description. He caught them with their eyes lowered slightly at certain parts of the story, still harbouring guilt over how things played out.

It didn't really matter now that half the universe was gone now, did it? But then again, if someone like Secretary Ross was able to get a spot on the council, who knew how sane those people were?

Bruce stepped out of the Wakandan aircraft, striding towards the door. _Just one knock,_ those were Clint's exact words coming from his strained, mournful voice filled with loss. The door swiftly opened when Bruce followed his instructions. Clint was definitely on edge, alert to every sound being made.

The archer gaped in surprise at the sight of him, even though they had spoke on the phone less than an hour ago. Without warning, he leaned in for a momentary hug, as if he wanted to ensure Bruce was truly there.

"Hey man, good to see you again," Bruce said, clapping a hand on the man's shoulder.

"Yeah, it's just…" Clint's eyes glazed over then, his brain being overwhelmed by the surreal situation. "I just don't know where to start. Nat told me the gist of it all, but I _still_ don't understand what the goddamn hell just happened."

"Well, at least I'm not the one that has to be brought up to speed for once," Bruce said jokingly. "Come on, I'll explain everything I can once we're on the jet."

Clint nodded at this, drawing the resolve he needed to leave the house. The house where his family had been reduced to mere ash. The two men trudged back to the aircraft, Bruce initiating the start up sequence once there before putting the plane on autopilot. Once they had gone airborne and began cruising at a reasonable altitude, Bruce turned away from the controls to look at Clint.

"Okay," he began, clasping his hands together like he had when he greeted the rest of the team, not even a day prior. "Where should I start?"

"You could start with where you've been the past three years," Bruce looked up, surprised at the request. There had been no hint of accusation in Clint's voice, just pure sincere curiosity on his whereabouts. The archer noticed this and quickly clarified, "Sorry, it's just… the topic of a universal genocide isn't something I want to hear right now. We can save that conversation for when we get back to the rest of the team."

Bruce nodded in agreement, knowing that Clint was already overwhelmed as it was. "Last thing I remembered was Nat pushing me off the edge. Must've drove Hulk into a rampage. Next thing I know, I'm in the Quinjet _naked_ on an alien planet, and Thor's looking at me like I'm about to break."

"How long?" Barton asked, his eyes widening.

"At least two years, maybe more. Time on that planet worked weird according to Thor."

"I'll bet. What was the big guy doing that kept you locked away like that?"

"I still don't know. There's no way he was angry the whole time, it's like he just locked me away like some luggage in the back seat. Apparently, I-he was a champion of warriors, everyone on that planet loved him."

"So you're saying he was actually… happy and in control the whole time?" Clint inquired, an eyebrow raised.

"Yeah, me and Hulk are still working out the kinks right now," he said with a shrug before continuing his story. "Anyway, Thor ended up _allegedly_ beating me in a fight, _easily_ in his eyes and I turned back into well, me, a little while after. That's when we-well I met this Asgardian Valkyrie, the big guy already knew her, and decided to go to Asgard to take down Thor's sister."

"Thor's _sister_?!" Clint half exclaimed, half questioned.

"Yeah, I told Thor I wanted no part of their family quarrel. Kinda ironic though, considering I was the one who pummelled his brother into the ground."

Clint chuckled softly at the mention of that moment, nothing had ever felt so satisfying as the day they had taken down the 'God of Mischief'. His mood swung like a pendulum after what Bruce said next though.

"But maybe he wasn't so bad after all."

"WHAT?!" Clint snapped out of his stupor quickly. "Bruce, the man killed _hundreds_ of people in less than a week, he was the most manipulative, devious-"

"I know what he _was_ , Clint! I know," Bruce repeated more softly. "But I'm just saying this based off what I saw. We had him as a prisoner on that planet-"

"That would've been nice to see," Clint muttered.

"And he still came to help us!" he continued, not missing a beat. "Maybe he did it for his own survival, but he didn't have to. He could've taken his ship and flown it anywhere else in the universe, but he chose to help _us._ And you know what I saw on the ship's bridge? Him and Thor, standing together, smiling because they finally had been brought back together."

"Okay, so he did something good for once, he'll stab you and Thor in the back soon enough," Clint replied jeeringly.

Bruce held his hands up in defence. "Look, I don't even know why I'm defending the guy, I hated him just as much as you do. Maybe he would've betrayed us later, who knows. But he didn't come with Thor to Wakanda, so I guess I'm just trying to say… if Loki did die, he died in redemption, not as the same man we captured in New York."

Clint took a deep sigh at this, willing himself to stay calm. He didn't care if Loki had 'changed', but if he was truly gone, there was no reason to argue about the trickster. So he relented. "Maybe you're right Bruce, but I can't trust those words without seeing it for myself."

Bruce nodded, as if expecting such an answer. "I know, I'm really just telling the story for Thor's sake. He's had a crappy few years."

"Understandable, so how'd it all go down?"

"Well, I was the Hulk at the time, but I still remember Asgard being destroyed by this fiery creature. He put his sword straight through the planet and killed Thor's sister. We got the refugees boarded on the ship, and it was going fine un… until… until Thanos showed."

"You don't have to continue," Clint said quietly.

"He decimated the ship, beat Hulk in record time, took the Tesseract… god, it was awful, just all the bodies Clint, so many lives _gone_ like that. I got sent back to Earth to warn you guys, which is how this all began," he concluded with a grimace.

The silence that followed was eerily palpable, neither one of them uttering a word as the plane cruised along. Finally, Bruce spoke again, his words an attempt to lighten the mood. "So that's my story, how've you been lately?"

Clint managed to paste on a smile in spite of it all. "Oh, not bad, played eighteen on the green, shot eighteen. And we don't really have to get into my prowess in playing pool."

"Retirement's been treating you well then, huh?" Bruce teased with a smile.

"Other than the whole 'Avengers splitting up' dilemma, it's been pretty good, all in all," he said, chuckling softly.

"Tell me all about it," Bruce said, a look of curiosity in his eyes. "Or, at least the parts you want to discuss. We've got time." He waved out to the skyline they were zipping by, still a couple hours away from Wakanda.

"Well in the five minutes I was retired before it all went to crap, things were pretty good…"

And the discussion continued from there for most of the ride back to Wakanda, just two good old friends catching up with each other.

* * *

It was a restless night for everyone in Wakanda and likely around the world as well. But while everyone was wide awake and couldn't sleep a wink, the bustling capital of the nation was like a ghost town that night. The streets were empty, doors sealed, the tribes withdrew back to their respective territories, and hardly a trace of life could be found had anyone chosen to venture outside that night.

Steve Rogers awoke after a night that consisted of staring aimlessly out a window, tossing and turning for hours, and with only a few hours of sleep tops to show for it. It was a new day though, the first day after the Snap, the first of many where they would slowly pick up the pieces and rebuild. Though the Captain did want another shot at Thanos, he knew it would be a long time coming, perhaps the day would never arrive. Instead, he directed his attention to what he knew he could do, even if it meant attending a press conference to establish order.

Getting out of bed, he could still feel a jolt in his facial nerves; the effects of Thanos's punch still being felt. He walked around the Wakandan facility that he was all too familiar with after T'Challa granted him and Bucky asylum here two years ago. Eventually, he found Natasha in an observatory, eyes focused on the beautiful skyline, the sun shining more vibrantly than usual to Steve. Though maybe he was just imagining things.

"Hey," he said simply, receiving the same answer in return, though Natasha's greeting was much livelier.

"What are you staring at out there?"

"Was here a few hours ago to watch the sun rise," she began, her eyes still not leaving the view. "Wasn't much to see in the city, so I ended up back here. How about you?"

Steve shot her a 'tell me what you're really doing' look, eyebrows furrowing, his lips pressed together. Natasha just smirked in response, eyes flickering to his before answering the unspoken question. "I like keeping a bird's eye view on things too."

Steve's eyes followed hers downcast, to where Thor and that odd raccoon were down below next to an honest-to-god spaceship. What they were doing though, anyone's guess would be as good as his.

"Okay…" He gave her a quizzical look of confusion, eventually attributing her observation of their resident God to boredom. After the battle they had lost, everyone would need some form of distraction to occupy themselves. "You know, you could just ask him what they're doing down there."

"Been an assassin, spy, and then with SHIELD for as long as I can remember, old habits die hard," she replied casually with a shrug of her shoulders.

" _Nat_."

"It's not like I don't trust him, it's just… I don't know, he's been gone for three years, wanted to see if he's changed much," she told him, her voice level and resolute of honesty.

Steve sighed, knowing that after what had just happened, they couldn't be operating based off suspicion, no matter how small it may be. "Nat, he's our friend, and if you've been staring at him for this long, he probably saw you by now. Come on, I'm sure he'll be glad to see us."

He turned around and exited the room at this, and as expected, she had followed suit. When they descended the level ramp to the main floor, Steve had to stop himself from going to the medical bay to check on Tony, whose stabilized condition likely remained unchanged from last night. Instead, he headed out the doors with Romanoff in tow, finding Thor and his new woodland friend fiddling with what looked to be a communications device. The God looked up and broke into a smile, beckoning them to join him. Steve shot a subtle glance to Natasha as if to say "told you so".

"Ah, Captain of America, Lady Natasha, I've been expecting your arrival!"

"I thought you were past your Shakespearian phase, oh God of Thunder," Natasha replied sarcastically.

"I am, but I still find it amusing to go back to every now and then," Thor said with a startling amount of lightheartedness. "I take you aren't here for a social gathering, as you Midgardians call it."

"Well, Nat here," Steve made a exaggerated motion gesturing to her, "was just curious on what you two were working on there."

"Yes, I did notice your presence boring down on me for a good part of the morning, Romanoff. I'm glad you asked though. Me and the rabbit-"

"Rabbit?" they blurted out in unison, puzzled. Apparently, Thor wasn't fully acquainted with Earth's wildlife.

"We've been working on transmitting a message to the Asgardians. I've left the sciency stuff to him, all the numbers, broadcast frequencies, that just goes over my head. He was almost finished when you guys arrived and…" Thor turned around to call the 'rabbit' then. "Rocket, how's it looking?"

The creature—Steve couldn't really wrap his mind around the raccoon being an extraterrestrial—yelled back in jest. "Calm down, pirate angel! I got communication systems workin' an hour ago!"

Now it was Thor's turn to be confused. "Well, why didn't you let me send out the message then? You said you weren't finished when I asked you."

"Had to take a few minutes to pinpoint their communication frequency so we could send a direct message. Wouldn't want any of your enemies to hear they're stranded in space. I checked the surrounding area from where we picked you up, got signals from about fifty ships, all clustered together. Boy, they didn't get far," Rocket explained, motioning them to come in the ship.

To Steve, it didn't appear vastly superior to their Quinjet with the exception of their radar system, which appeared to be calibrated to dozens of other star systems and their respective planets. Though he guessed there was likely more to the spaceship than what actually met the eye.

"Thank you, Rocket," Thor said, his voice husky with emotion. "I suppose I should send the message now." He scooted over to the communications system, Steve and Nat still looking around the ship in a bit of awe.

"Asgardians, if you are hearing this message, this is Thor Odinson! Do not fret, I managed to survive my encounter with our attacker, I am currently located on Midgard with access to the Bifrost. I will transmit my coordinates promptly, but I'd advise-"

"Bloody hell, Thor, we can hear you!" an accented— was that a hint of British?— voice yelled out. At this, Thor broke out into a huge smile despite the tone he was given, meaning he must've known the speaker well. "You know, you could've given us coordinates earlier, none of us have ever even _been_ to Midgard before, dear Lord of Thunder."

Nat smiled at how the woman spoke. "She's got a bit of fire to her."

"Oh, believe me, I know that all too well," Thor said with a slight shake of his head before addressing the voice again. "My apologies, Valkyrie, I admit, my contingency plan wasn't all that good. From where you're located, it would take at least a few weeks, maybe months to reach Midgard if you continued to travel in those pods."

"Before you dash out into the vacuum of space to be our savior, could you explain why half our survivors just disintegrated into nothing?" Valkyrie asked with a mixture of disbelief, fear, and a bit of anger.

Thor slumped down at this; his whole demeanour changed knowing his people were even further decimated, Steve could see the anguish. The God closed his eyes, drawing up some resolve as he spoke. "The man who attacked our ship, Thanos, he gathered all the Infinity Stones and erased half of all life from the universe. What are your numbers like now, Valkyrie?"

"We are only a few hundred left, Thor, some of the pods are empty now. We lost Korg, and I think more of the people we picked up on Sakaar fell victim than Asgardians."

"Damn that Thanos," Thor muttered, picking out a space helmet from a storage container. "Valkyrie, does anyone have any notable injuries?"

"No, everyone left is healthy and accounted for. I can tell why you put off being king for so long, the whole leadership thing sucks."

"You learn to adapt, get used to it eventually," Thor said with a shrug before giving further instructions. "Now dock on the nearest planet, it should be just to your right."

"I don't see anything there!"

"Sorry, my right, your left. This map must have a different orientation. I'll meet you there soon."

"Okay, sounds good Sparkles. Be there in a bit," she said, before turning to yell orders at the rest of the people on the pods. "C'mon people, you heard him, let's go!"

Natasha couldn't keep in her laughter this time, nearly doubling over with her guffaws. "Sp-Sparkles?!" she choked out, leaning on a wall for support. Steve also gave a slight smirk, while Rocket simply rolled his eyes as if he'd rather be anywhere else.

Thor sighed as he stepped outside the ship. "It's an inside joke between us. I can tell you more of the fantastical adventures and quips I had with that lady when I return. Now then," he paused to call his axe, which arrived dutifully, sparks of lightning still radiating from it.

"Be back in a flash."

And with that, he was swept away in the swirling light of the Bifrost.

* * *

 **Boy, it took a while to get this up. Made a lot of proofreads and whatnot, and changed several scenes entirely for reasons only known to me. Thor's finally getting his people back, Clint's back in the mix, things are looking up for the team.**

 **I made Asgard seem pretty far from Earth, wasn't too sure if that's actually the case if traveling by light speed. I mainly based it off Valkyrie's throwaway line in Ragnarok where she stated it would take roughly eighteen months for them to get to Asgard from Xandar, which was said to be the main hub of the galaxy. Maybe saying a few months to reach Earth was being generous, but eh.**

 **Thanks for the continued support from all my viewers, glad to say we hit 1600 views in 5 chapters! Review, rate, follow, etc. etc. if you're liking the story so far, I'll continue posting regardless, but knowing people enjoy my work just makes my day, much appreciation to all of you!**

 **This chapter was actually finished earlier than I expected, but two weeks is still quite some time. Anyway, I'm off to class now, till next time FF,**

 **-BasketballIsFun**


	7. The Awakening

" _I don't much time, I'll explain what I can before I must leave."_

"Could you, well, elaborate further on that?" Hope inquired in response to Dr. Strange's vague words. She was still hung up on the fact that the two of them were supposedly going to help save the universe. Surprisingly, her goofy partner didn't make a comment of his own, merely continuing to stare at the newcomer with a befuddled look.

"Yes, of course, time is of the essence," the sorcerer replied, snapping back to reality. "From what I saw, you two will be crucial parts in the battle to come. Fir—"

Strange paused his explanation then at the sight of Scott's hand being raised, the man approaching the situation with much of the same apprehensiveness he had when he was first recruited by Hank Pym to be the Ant-Man. "Okay, first of all, who are you again? And second, what kind of battle are you talking about here? I thought we already defeated Ghost."

"Ghost?" Strange inquired, sidetracked by Scott's flurry of questions.

"Scott, believe me, I have a lot more questions I'd love to ask," Hope said in an attempt to placate her partner. "But it can wait. Let the man speak, he obviously knows something."

"She's right, I do. And to answer your question Mr. Lang, I saw a future battle and all its possible outcomes," Strange explained calmly.

"… That's kind of heavy, but why would you… er, I mean, how can you—" Scott stuttered out.

"I can conjure weapons and portals out of pure dimensional energy," Strange held his hands in a stance, the glow of his orange shields providing a momentary light source. "Access realms like this one, and I'm one of the more powerful sorcerers on Earth. Looking into the future certainly isn't above my paygrade."

"Right, right," Scott pondered this information for a moment. Apparently, magic was a thing outside of his card tricks and slight of hand. "Isn't that kind of considered cheating?"

"Perhaps. But I've always been one to bend the rules when deemed necessary. And against someone like Thanos, it was necessary."

"Thanos?" the two questioned, in sync as Strange expected. After all, not even he, Master of the Mystic Arts who monitored all kinds of threats to Earth, knew of the Titan who had slain entire civilizations before Dr. Banner crashed into the sanctum.

"You'll learn more of him in time," Strange said simply.

"Right," Hope replied, trying to process this new information. "So, I assume you must've fought this Thanos, then?"

"Yes, we lost the battle," a certain tranquility showed in his voice, Strange having come to terms with the winning outcome long ago. Still, to see half the universe perish fourteen million times… even Dormammu's assault on him paled in comparison. He decided to elaborate a bit further, given that the two would likely get the details sooner or later regardless. "Lives were lost on an unprecedented scale, and you, Mr. Lang, will be crucial in defeating Thanos when the time comes."

Scott shot the doctor a sideways look at yet another mention of his supposed big role. "Yeah, about that… Why I am the key to making all this work? I mean, Hope's a way better kickass fighter than me, she's smarter, not to mention her suit's way better than mine…"

"Scott…" Hope could only roll her eyes at her partner's rambling.

"It's true though!" he persisted. "I still can't believe Hank held out on me like that."

"If I may interject…" Strange cut in before the two got too sidetracked. "The truth is, Ms. Van Dyne wasn't supposed to be trapped here with you in the winning scenario I saw. It appears the timeline has branched off slightly from the winning scenario I manipulated into place."

"That doesn't make sense," Scott's voice was laced with confusion. "I mean, just how many of these futures did we win anyway?"

"I only saw that one," the sorcerer mused, trying to convince himself the timeline hadn't been butchered. Having another person on deck for Thanos would certainly only increase their chances, right? "You raise a good point though, perhaps I just didn't look into enough possibilities."

"Fair enough," Hope nodded, a little disturbed by the notion that this man had been micromanaging events to play out exactly as he wanted. "So, where do we fit in this winning scenario?"

"I'm not sure," Strange said honestly, to be met with skeptical glances from the two of them. "I couldn't see beyond my death and—"

"You died? But then… how are you even here right now?" Scott asked.

Strange winced at his slip up, which didn't go unnoticed by either of them. He was reluctant to tell them of Thanos's act in the moment. Instead, he conjured up a small projection of the Infinity Stones before them that didn't take up too much of his dwindling energy, hoping to keep the details vague, but enough to satisfy any questions.

"Thanos sought out these six elemental crystals called Infinity Stones. They each control a certain aspect of life, and when he got them all…" Strange trailed off, willing himself to draw the resolve for what he had to say next. "He eliminated his enemies, those who he deemed not worthy of life, people who could to be a threat to him once he achieved omnipotence. I was one of those on his list." Technically not a lie, he did view half the universe as his enemies against 'balance'.

Neither Scott or Hope spoke at this, visibly disturbed by the information, allowing Strange to continue. "But what he didn't know was that he didn't completely kill us, he merely transported us all to a pocket dimension inside the Soul Stone. This one." At this, he made the glowing shine of the orange stone sparkle.

"So you mean this is your soul then, your… life essence?" Hope asked, realization hitting her.

"I prefer to call it my astral form, but yes, that is essentially what you're seeing," the sorcerer said with a nod of his head before giving further details. "After I arrived in the Soul Stone, I began searching for temporal gateways, interdimensional rifts between realms using my sorcery. The stone is very stingy when it comes to its captured souls, it took a great strain of energy just to get here to the…"

"Quantum realm," Hope put in.

"Right, quantum realm. Anyway, I doubt I can return to the physical world, not without some help."

"But just where do we fit in all of this?" Scott asked, slightly frustrated.

"I'm not sure. In the winning scenario, I was resurrected somehow, and the two of you were fighting alongside the Avengers, all of them. But I don't know how we got to that point."

"The Avengers?" Hope said with a hint of distaste in her voice. "I know it seems miniscule in light of facing a being who has power over all of reality, but what about the Accords? If we reveal ourselves, the UN will send a strike force on us."

"Believe me, Ms. Van Dyne, by the time you return, the Accords will hardly be a problem. It won't hamper your efforts or willingness to fight the battle."

"Good to know, but what happened after you got magicked back into existence? You must've been able to see since you were… er, will be alive, how'd we defeat Thanos?" Scott pressed.

"I was brought back when the fight was already practically won. I don't know what led to that victory," Strange said. "I only saw a beacon of golden light, presumably from the Infinity Stones, and I couldn't see any further than that."

"It can't ever be easy, can it?" Hope stated, as if she expected such an empty answer.

"Your girlfriend catches on fast," Strange mused, a slight smirk on his face.

"She does that a lot," Scott shrugged before laying out the beginnings of a plan. "So, we have to find the Avengers when we get out, got it," he stated simply before a question came to him.

"Any idea how we get out of here?"

"No, and speaking of which…" The two of them glanced at Strange, who seemed to be flickering in and out of existence, like a video transmission with poor reception. "I've used too much of my energy staying here, I must return to the Soul Stone at once."

"Wait!" Scott yelled as Strange began to twirl his hands to search for the interdimensional gap between the realms. He paled at the annoyed look Strange gave him before asking meekly, "Is there anything else you can tell us?"

The sorcerer opened his mouth, but before he could respond, he faded away again, this time for good in a dazzling flash of white. It was a bizarre encounter in the quantum realm to say the least. In the span of what felt like a few minutes, they learned they would have to go from fighting a woman who could phase through objects, and sure, she was a trained assassin for SHIELD, but that didn't exactly match up to a being who held the power of the universe contained in six tiny pieces of rock. Hope eventually broke the silence, summing up their new predicament perfectly in just a few words.

"What are we getting into here?"

* * *

 _Pain._

 _It was like clockwork to him, sometimes an oddly assuring constant in his life to remind him that he was still living, that the 'up there' was the endgame. The mistakes he made, the ends would justify the means… until they didn't. Building the team, all the camaraderie, only to see it crumple with the passage of time, forged and dismantled by the same hand of human ambition and moral conflict._

 _The restless nights, trauma building, an uncertain future ahead where he made promises in vain. The past leaving him susceptible, blinding enough that he couldn't see the full picture, the road to defeat being taken on his desire to avoid it. All the tedious hours of preparation, advancing what he could all for naught in the end, to fail nonetheless._

 _And yet, there had been that lulling period of blissful peace. Time where he truly felt for once that he was only doing what he was doing as precaution, with no sense of urgency or world-ending threat on the horizon. A time where he thought just maybe, maybe he could settle down and step away from the battle that would inevitably have to be fought._

 _How naïve he'd been._

" _Stark." He knew firsthand just how much fear words could strike into a person, but in that moment, the dread and anticipation had reached its climax. This was it; the demon he had in his head for the past six years, the very being he knew from afar, the one that influenced every single one of his actions. It was almost liberating to finally put a face to the orchestrator who had set everything into place, but of course, his fear undercut everything else then and there._

 _So he gave it his all even with the knowledge he would lose. Because that's what heroes do. The feeling of coming up short, the weight of the universe on his shoulders, he felt almost catatonic afterwards, still living as a soulless animated corpse in a sense. Seeing his life being valued like that, the 'respect' he had earned, why? He hated that sense of helplessness, of being a pawn in someone's intricate game. Going out on his own terms, that would've been enough. It was never his own death that scared him, he was almost resigned to it, an inevitability like the sun rising._

 _But now, he felt… nothing, his resolve dwindling, only to be refueled by vengeance in an instant. The internal conflict gnawed away at him even in sleep, the images forever ingrained in his mind. To live… what would be the point, knowing that he, a hardly measurable entity in an unforgiving universe, had caused its death? Avenging a planet was one thing, but an entire universe was… was inconceivable. He wanted to lull himself into submission, to let go of the pain, but without it, there was no life to live. But would that be so bad?_

The thoughts consumed Tony Stark like an eternal flame, only to finally be met with a reprieve in consciousness, a distraction.

* * *

Tony woke up to the sight of a holographic interface of some sort. Instinctively, he touched his hand to his midsection, only to discover the gaping stab wound gone. He reached under his shirt apprehensively, and sure enough, the nanites that had sealed the puncture weren't present either. Whoever had patched him up did a top-notch job. Still, there was one more thing test…

He got up easily, not even showing a hint of the limp he was sporting when he was last awake. He walked over to an observatory deck, glancing out at what looked to be an underground train line, moving with a great speed to it. The room he was in was a lab of some sort, and Tony couldn't help but notice a certain metal he had researched to a great extent two years ago was embedded in almost every single device there. Oh yeah, there was no question as to where he was.

"I'm glad you're doing better."

Tony turned towards the voice, one that belonged to someone he hadn't from ever since that fateful letter two years ago. It startled him, though he wasn't necessarily surprised by the gritty, bearded man standing before him, who looked to be jaded by the cruelties of life.

"Captain Rogers." He gave a head nod, trying to sound as noncommittal as possible. Where would they even start?

"Tony, look I—"

"That's where I'm going to have to get you to stop," Tony held up his hands, not wanting to hear this conversation with his emotions still running high. "Look, I know it's been two years, we all know, but Thanos just wiped out half of goddamn existence. Let's air out the extracurriculars later, okay?"

Steve was a little disappointed by Tony's willingness to cast the past aside for the time being, knowing it would only be a looming cloud over them, an unspoken thing that needed to be addressed, but fully understood his reasoning. He didn't want to risk alienating Tony again, so for the sake of diplomacy, he nodded. In light of recent events, the Civil War did feel like water under the bridge, even more so with the passage of time.

"Okay," he said eventually, walking forward to extend his hand.

After a brief moment of hesitation, Tony took it, shaking loosely. A droning silence held in the air, until Rogers asked the question that both of them needed to know the answer to. "How… How'd things go on your end? Your… acquaintance hasn't been very upfront about it."

"Well…" Tony snuck a look towards the incline walkway that presumably led upstairs, immediately noticing said acquaintance peering down at them. _Nebula, that was her name._ He shivered at the sight of her as the events on Titan were brought to the forefront of his mind again. Just thinking about it… "We should probably get everyone up to speed. It's not a story I want to repeat."

Steve simply gestured for Tony to follow him, a silent agreement between the two. He fiddled with his all way comms device, asking everyone to meet in 'the same room as last time'. As they passed the observation deck that lounged above the medical bay/lab, Nebula gave Tony an expression of what looked to be relief at his healed condition, much to their surprise.

"Nebula, glad to see you stuck around," Tony said as he stopped to address her.

The woman's face immediately shifted to one of her patented icy glares, one that Tony was already a little familiar with. "Don't think I will stay for long, _Stark._ I am only here to gather information to kill my father," she snarled.

Tony shrugged. "Whatever the reason, it's good to see a familiar face."

She didn't respond to his attempt of breaking the ice, instead turning on her heel to stomp upstairs. Steve looked at Tony, impressed that he had actually gotten words out of the woman.

"I'm just such a good people person," Tony said, sarcasm dripping in his voice.

"You got more out of her than the rest of us did," Steve replied with a light chuckle as a question came to him. "When she said her father, she didn't mean…?"

"Yeah, _him._ You fought some of those aliens, didn't you?" Steve nodded, thoughts fleeting to the moment where the skinny, pale one had choked him. "They were supposedly his 'children', though I'm guessing not biological. She wouldn't elaborate on it."

"Well then," Steve replied, a bit disturbed, because what the hell else could he say about a being who wiped out half the universe raising others' children as his own?

"Yeah…" Tony decided talking about Thanos could wait just a little more. "Let's just get upstairs."

Tony couldn't help but stare at the grandeur of Wakanda's capital from the view he was given. How vibranium could enhance an entire city like this was still beyond his comprehension. As they walked around the corridor of one of the upper floors, Steve couldn't help but smile a bit at his old friend's admiration.

"Like what you see?"

"Yeah, it's pretty… ground-breaking tech."

Steve shrugged. "I remember seeing it for the first time too. Feels like you're on a different planet."

Tony shook his head in amazement, still in awe of all the enhancements made. "I've gotta talk to one of the scientists here."

"Your best bet's probably Shuri, though right now she's busy…" he said with a grimace.

"Busy?" Tony felt an ominous feeling begin to rise in his throat, nothing good could come of _that_ word right now.

"The ceremony… She was T'Challa's sister, he…"

 _Oh._ Another good person gone by Thanos's hand. Though they had never really conversed during the whole Accords debacle, Tony had held the former Black Panther in high regard, in part due to his vibranium suit, sure, but also for the whole wise beyond his years demeanour he exuded throughout. The manner in which he apprehended his father's killer in Zemo, Tony wasn't sure he could show such restraint at that age. And while he did suspect him of harbouring the rogues, he respected the decision and understood that what the Wakandan King was doing would be beneficial in the long term. But in the end, it was all in vain. _Damn Accords…_

Before Tony could get too engrossed in his thoughts, they finally made it to this meeting room, where inside, another series of reunions could ensue. Rhodey, Bruce, Barton, and Romanoff all sat around a table that had way too many seats for the circumstances.

"Where's Thor?" Steve asked, much to Tony's surprise. How long had it been since he last saw the 'God of Thunder'?

"Point Break's here?" he blurted, the old nickname earning a few smirks from the others.

"He's helping the Asgardians settle in," Bruce said simply.

"Why are his freakishly superhuman people here?"

"Long story short, all the Asgardians got on this giant spaceship to escape from Thor's evil sister—" Bruce began.

"Thor has a sister?" That was news to him.

"Well, probably half sister in retrospect. Anyway, we summoned a giant fire demon to kill his sister and the planet with it and now the people have nowhere else to go but here. That about sums it up."

"And you were, well, _with_ him? In space?"

"For the last two or three years, yeah. Though most of it not with him. But anyway…" Bruce trailed off as Clint gave him a look.

At this, Rhodey stood up and strode towards him. "It's good to have you back, Tony. You really are a survivor."

While he appreciated the sentiment, he couldn't help but feel a fleeting wave of darkness spread over him at the words that reminded him of Dr. Strange's foolish bargain, which of course drew the attention of everyone. "Hardly," he said with a snort. "Sometimes, it's just people prioritizing my life over others."

"What do you mean?" Steve asked as everyone's faces notably drooped. It was chilling to see just how much his 'trading lives' complex seemed to play a role in everything.

"I need to sit down for this," Tony muttered, collapsing into a chair while truly taking in the presence of his former teammates for the first time.

"Agent Romanoff, looking spiffy. Though I gotta say, the blonde is a bit extra."

"You haven't lost a step in the quips department," she responded, cool as ice.

"After the day we've all had, we could use some lightheartedness." Tony's words didn't match his tone though, the math of the situation beginning to sink in. "This is everyone left?"

"Yeah." The one word from Steve reverberated throughout the room, until Tony cleared his throat to speak again.

"I assume you guys already know I was in space," Several nods ensued, followed by Tony taking a deep breath. "Okay, here's the gist of it all."

He explained how he discovered Peter on the ship, the odd exchange with Strange's sentient cloak, before blasting evil Squidward into space to free the wizard. When he got to the part where they encountered those oddball Guardians, suddenly everyone's interests piqued.

"Another human in space?" Bruce's eyes were wide. "And for his whole life?"

"Well, he claimed he was only half human, never really got into the other half though," Tony elaborated.

"To think we thought we were alone in this universe," Steve mused aloud.

"Yeah… The Chitauri were our first major tip off, though that still caught me off guard. We ended up working with them to ambush Thanos, humanoid Quill came up with the plan, and we were getting ready when Strange, the bastard, said he saw the future to find out how we win." His breath hitched in his throat as he recalled the dread brewing within him. Everyone leaned in closely to hear what transpired next. "He said there was only one way for us to win, but he wouldn't tell us what it was. All he told us was to just go with our plan. We waited for Thanos to show up, jerk talked about completing his 'goal' and 'watching the sun rise' before we put the plan into action.

"And it worked. We had him pinned down and sedated until…" Tony closed his eyes, unsure what to say. He didn't want to condemn Quill in death, but at the same time, it made his teeth grind knowing how close they were.

"Until what, Tony?" Rhodey asked quietly.

"Until Thanos broke free, knocked out half the team, and then threw a _moon_ at us," he said, keeping it short. "I saw Strange fighting when I was trapped under the rubble, that guy…" Images of him duplicating himself and conjuring spells to nullify black holes were seared in his brain. "He put up a good fight."

"I stepped in, got stabbed with my _own_ blade, maybe you could call that coming full circle or whatever, and it was over. We failed. But then Strange, being the all-knowing guy he was, he gives up the Time Stone to spare my life! Half the universe for me! And then he gives me some bullshit answer about being in the endgame to justify it!" Tony was yelling now; his anger being displayed in full force right before breaking down with his head in his hands.

"Tony… is there anything else Strange said that might help?" Bruce asked gently in an effort to snap the man out of his self loathing mood. "If he knew what was going to happen, he wouldn't have let us lose like this."

"What could he have done? Any of us? Everything I had, and all I could come up with was a drop of blood. He told me so himself that there was no other way, right before fading out of existence along with a kid who was only sixteen years old!"

Steve had grimaced at Tony's tale, much more defined with horror than the battle in Wakanda, where Thanos had merely subdued them in a matter of seconds despite wielding the power to obliterate them all in that moment instead of leaving it up to chance. "Tony, we'll get through this," he said, trying to create some spark of hope. "We may have lost the battle, but as long as there are still people willing to fight, to oppose Thanos, we can still avenge the fallen in the end. That day will come."

"Avenging?" Tony wanted to laugh at Steve's proposal, but at the same time, he didn't want to crush his own foolish hope of bringing Thanos down himself. He thought back to Nebula's words regarding the Titan. "If we could even get within the same solar system as him, he could wipe us out of existence without even lifting a finger. Not that I wouldn't do it in a heartbeat, but we don't even know where he is."

"I know Tony, it was just an idea. But you're right, there are other things we can do to make this right. Tony, Pepper's waiting for you." The billionaire finally allowed himself to lighten up a bit at the news. "We're sending out a damage control team to release some statements to the public. Cleanup efforts for the mass panic in cities will begin soon. Countries will collapse, governments left in turmoil. I know we haven't done much of this kind of work before, but it's the best we can do for now."

Steve's words hung in the air, met by only nods and some downcast eyes as resignation and acceptance to this new reality clicked in. A universe where a madman could shape it however he pleases. The room took on a solitary mood, the Avengers still reeling from the losses they would carry with them for the rest of their lives. But this time as they adjourned their third meeting in the past twenty-four hours, there was at least some semblance of unity, a silver lining in the midst of a worldwide armageddon as they sat down together as a team for the first time in two years. Regardless, the sorrow was still ever present as the team parted their separate ways, with the knowledge deep down that it'd be difficult to regain that team dynamic and the cohesiveness that came with it.

Even though the past was the past, things would never be the same. Maybe they didn't have to be though.

* * *

"Did you do it?"

Dr. Strange turned to face the woman, nodding solemnly. "Yes, everything's fine… everything's the way it should be."

"Stephen—"

He groaned. "Again, I much prefer Doctor Strange."

She gave him a look of skepticism. "Don't lie to me. You think we're in the wrong timeline, don't you?"

"That isn't a concern. Having another person to fight Thanos can't be a bad thing."

Deciding the answer was satisfactory, she nodded. "Makes sense. But why lie to them?"

"It was—"

" _Doctor_ , we both know you did. Again, but why?"

"Your constant knowledge of my intentions is quite disturbing," Strange commented, deflecting the question.

"It's one of—actually it's the only benefit of being tethered to the stone, but the knowledge is also a burden," she replied simply. "And I can't read your thoughts, I'm merely going off intuition, based on how I perceive your soul."

"Thank you for the insight, Gamora," he replied, trying to keep the sarcasm out of his voice. "Now, should we search for some souls now?"

Again, she gave him that look. "Not until you tell me what your plan is," she reaffirmed.

Strange sighed in response to the person who was regarded as the fiercest woman in the galaxy, but decided to come clean before she discovered what he was hiding herself. "The truth is, I am not entirely certain of my plan right now, only ninety-nine percent sure because the stone didn't tell me what occurred between my death and resurrection. I lied to them because maybe I wasn't supposed to be there to tell them anything in the first place. I only told them what they would definitively know upon their return."

"You didn't tell them Thanos killed half of all life in the universe, did you?" Gamora countered, appearing slightly miffed based on the texture of her green skin. "They would learn about it the instant they returned!"

Strange held up a shaking hand in an effort to appease her. "There was no reason to have me inform them just so they could project their anger at me for letting it happen. It was a judgement call to save time."

Gamora huffed, but eventually conceded to his point. " _Fine._ So if you can't see into the future right now, what's your plan?"

"Like I said, we need to search for some certain souls right now," Strange said adamantly.

"But why? Once Thanos's work is undone, every soul here will be brought back to life anyway."

"Well, you see," the sorcerer began a bit sheepishly. "Not telling those two about Thanos's deed wasn't the only lie I told them…"

Gamora could only roll her eyes at the man's need for crypticness as he explained.

* * *

 **A/N: Thanks for reading everyone, it's been kind of rough nowadays with my uploads because of midterms now, it may be a while until the next chapter. Regardless, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, it was probably the toughest to write just because of my efforts to make the interactions between characters like Strange, Gamora, and the Ant-Man team sound fluid. Not to mention, the Avengers (well most of them) getting back together.**

 **Be sure to review, follow, fav, and all that other stuff, it brightens me up a lot. Even if you just want to say something simple, go for it if you want to. Next chapter should include some Rocket, Thor, and some more Wakandan stuff probably. Thanks for 2,000 views!**

 **Until next time,**

 **-BasketballIsFun**


	8. Playing The Long Game

Seeing his people settle into the buildings of Wakanda, numbers reduced but still standing, and maybe, just maybe finally out of danger, Thor finally allowed himself to smile for once. If nothing else, he could at least have the remaining Asgardian and Sakaarian refugees to watch over with pride. They had little to no supplies when they arrived, given that the escape pods weren't exactly designed to carry much more than its occupants, so it wasn't that difficult a transition for the most part. Of course, there were some people visibly shaken by recent events, mainly from the children, but that… Thor knew that was to be expected.

"Everyone's present and accounted for, Your Majesty," Valkyrie had snuck behind him without a moment's notice, startling the king. "I gotta say, it's not like I remember it on Asgard, but eh, I spent the last thousand years rotting away on Sakaar anyway."

"Thank you, Valkyrie," Thor said with a distant smile that couldn't match his words. The warrior picked up on it right away.

"Is something wrong? Our numbers may be low, but the people are safe. That's all that matters," she reminded him.

"Yes, I know," Thor replied, still contemplating what was to come. "But as king, I have to be prepared for any eventuality. The people of Midgard will know we're here sooner or later, and I fear they won't be very welcoming."

Valkyrie patted the hilt of her sword slotted into the sheath. "We'll be ready for them."

Thor sighed, but didn't fault her for the response. After all, she had lived in an era where all her king did was charge into battle and drape the cosmos in blood. "We will, but in a different manner," Valkyrie gave Thor a befuddled look. "I'm talking about diplomatically sorting out our relations to the people here. No need for swordplay or killing undead armies—not that they have any here—but seriously, no violence in general. We can work this out peacefully. You know, like how you and the Grandmaster were able to come to that mutual agreement of yours."

"I was enslaving people and leading them to their deaths," she stated flatly. "And that was only after I proved myself in his orgy sessions."

"I-uh… really… didn't need to know that."

"Well how else do you think people gained his favor?!" Valkyrie retorted in frustration.

"Okay, never mind that. Point is, we aren't citizens on Ear—Midgard. Right now, we have to approach them peacefully so they'll at least give us a chance. No taking matters into the arms of battle, no not so subtle threats, none of that."

"Define subtle," Valkyrie said with a deadpan look.

"… Just don't be rash, please?"

"Ugh, _fine_ ," Valkyrie pouted as she reluctantly came to agreement. "Since when did Midgardians become so hostile, anyway? I knew it was an isolated realm, but bloody hell, might as well have resorted to Xandar if they were so hospitable."

"I thought I already told you, Thanos decimated Xandar last week."

"Yeah, you may have," Valkyrie replied halfheartedly, chugging down a bottle of booze much less concentrated than what she was used to drinking on Sakaar. "But by the Norns, perhaps my listening skills could use some improvement."

"Good, it's always important to acknowledge one's deficiencies," Thor said daringly, knowingly ignoring the jest in her comment. Though he quickly backpedaled once a dagger made its way to his throat. "Bad taste, sorry. Anyway, upon the event we do have to face Midgardian government in some manner, I'm making you my right hand."

Valkyrie lowered the weapon, more out of confusion than anything else. "Your what?"

"My right hand woman. You know, Asgard's official representative other than me."

"… You want _me_ to represent Asgard?"

"Yes of course, the people will enjoy your presence."

"I'm honored Thor, really, but I haven't served Asgard in such a manner since well… ever."

"Better get used to it then, because it's either you, one of Asgard's commoners, or Miek."

"If you're really considering a creature that has blades for hands, I suppose I really am your best option then," Valkyrie said with a sigh of resignation.

"Glad we could come to an agreement," Thor replied jovially, smirking at his method of persuasion.

"Alright, so we have the potential threat of petty Midgardians, what's our damn plan here?" Valkyrie huffed impatiently.

Thor shrugged, clicking his tongue in thought. "Get the people acquainted here, if we aren't welcomed, well there are seven other realms. But then again, only Vanaheim would really provide hospitality… that's about as far as I've thought things out."

"But, as for right now," he continued, suddenly shifting his tone. "You need to take a break."

"Your Majesty…" Valkyrie rolled her eyes, but was secretly glad to see him care so much for the well-being of others. It just annoyed her that this attitude extended to her as well.

"You've been up and about ever since our ship got attacked. Take a break, get your mind off things for a bit, that's an order from your king."

Valkyrie scoffed at the notion of Thor ordering her around. _Like that went so well on Sakaar._ Regardless, she turned to explore the rest of the ridiculously advanced city by Midgardian standards anyhow. And just like old times as a Scrapper, she wandered along without a destination, goal, or concise thought in mind, simply living, if you could call it that.

* * *

Tony went to see off Steve and Rhodey as they made final preparations for their meeting with the UN in Geneva. There, they'd be facing down what was left of the Accords Council, the World Security Council, and the official representatives of each country. Tony contemplated tagging along, but decided his heart wasn't quite ready to face more political scrutiny yet. Practically everyone on the planet thought he was dead, and Tony wasn't going to correct them just yet.

"So, this is it, huh?" Tony asked as the two men stood before him.

"Yeah," Rhodey finally said after a quaint silence.

"You got your notes ready?" Rhodey nodded. "Don't deviate from your script, just say what you need to say—"

"Don't give them any ammo, be prepared to have everything you say dissected, molecule by molecule," the former colonel finished. "I know Tony, we've rehearsed this for meetings a thousand times for the last two years."

Tony allowed himself a smile; Rhodes would always be there with him at least. "You gonna be alright, Cap? The beard'll probably intimidate them a bit, which is good, but it's been a while since you've been in a public setting like this." He paused to consider just how wrong it could all go. The most wanted fugitive of the Accords in a room full of pissed off government officials looking to find a scapegoat for the world being thrown into anarchy.

What could go wrong?

"You know they'll go after you, Rogers. _Hard._ In fact, I'm surprised you guys are even allowed to attend this meeting, how'd you pull it off?"

"Rhodey used what was left of his political pull, told them the gist of what happened today, the UN let us go. Probably just to arrest me, but we're expecting that," Steve explained.

"If it was you working the phones Tony, I'm sure they wouldn't even bat an eye," Rhodey remarked. "You've practically been a model citizen for the Accords, they weren't very happy with me once I let Steve and the others in."

"Yeah, well no doubt they've been keeping an eye on me. Probably would've done something eventually to violate some tedious subsection of the Accords. It was hard enough to keep them from getting their hands on my suits, but now it's gonna be absolute hell."

Steve nodded in agreement, glad that Tony showed some resentment towards the Accords that he suspected was lingering even though he signed. "It'll be tough, but someone has to do it." In light of everything else that happened recently, angry government officials were honestly the least intimidating of them all. He had already faced down Ross, what was a couple hundred more to him?

"Guess you guys should get going," Tony stated conspicuously before pulling in Rhodey for a hug, to the surprise of them both. "Try to make it back in one piece, alright?"

"I'll see what I can do," Rhodes replied with a chuckle, the two best friends for as long as they both could recall enjoying the banter. In times like this, the little things really did seem much more magnified.

"Steve." The two alpha males stared at one another for a good couple of seconds, both coming to understand the difficulties lying ahead and the necessity of working together, working to move past what conflict had befallen them prior given the world's current state. It wouldn't be easy to mend that bridge or cross it once the time came, but perhaps this could be a start.

"Good luck out there," was the phrase Tony eventually settled on.

Steve nodded in compliance, before donning his usual serious Cap expression. "Call her, okay? She knows you're here, but to hear you actually speak…" he trailed off, the message clear.

"I know," Tony stated simply, a wistful look of longing appearing briefly in his eyes. A harmonic silence spread throughout the Wakandan landing port, shattered only when Steve and Rhodes began to shuffle away to the Quinjet, simple waves of goodbye being exchanged.

But before they could takeoff, a "Good god" escaped Steve's mouth, prompting Tony to turn around and find one Natasha Romanoff walking towards them. And she had her classic look of determination in her eye, accompanied by a slight grin on her face, arguably her deadliest weapon of all.

"Nat," Steve's voice seemed weary at her presence. "What are you doing?"

"Why, I'm coming with you of course," she replied good-naturedly.

"I thought we already had this discussion. You said you weren't one for the cameras and all that."

Natasha shrugged. "To be honest, I was more on the fence than anything. But I gave it some thought, and I _figured_ , it'd be best to draw at least some attention off your arrival. Besides, I can be quite convincing even in hostile environments."

"I don't know," Steve said with a shake of his head. "It could just be a trap to detain us. Ross wasn't very happy when we arrived at the compound."

"Technically, I am still a signed member of the Accords."

"Who stunned T'Challa at the airport and allowed two violators to escape while also assisting said violators for the past two years," Steve pointed out.

"He's got a point there, Romanoff," Tony chimed in, to be met by a more half-hearted glare from the former agent than anything else.

Natasha huffed in frustration. "Look, I'm coming one way or another, you must realize that by now, right?"

"I think I did ever since this conversation started," Steve admitted in resignation before turning to the other man accompanying him. "Rhodey, you think this'll work out?"

The colonel gave a tentative nod. "I think I should be able to get her clearance. I'll have to wrangle a few objectors with all the political pull I have left, but it'll be fine."

"Alright, welcome to the crew then, Nat," Steve said, extending his hand outward. She took it, stepping into the Quinjet with her usual grace and precision. Tony had forgotten just how tactical the woman could be when it came down to convincing others, just by how fluid she was with her words, the calm in her tone. Oh, she was good alright.

"See… you guys around then," Tony said as farewells were passed around once more.

This time, there was no sudden interruption as the aircraft took off into the sky, leaving Tony to his thoughts once more. To his dismay, all of his suit's systems were offline; the pulse of the arc reactor being the only constant. FRIDAY wasn't even operational thanks to his encounter with Thanos. He made a mental note to repair it once he got back to New York. Still, that could wait.

Trudging back towards the interiors of Wakanda, he remembered he had a phone call to make.

* * *

The ceremony had a solemn mood this time around, and although tears weren't shed (that could wait for the procession of funerals and mourning to come), it wasn't like any ceremony of past. This time around, the new ruler wasn't a new generation of leadership, the circumstances surrounding the country altogether were unfathomable, and a sense of unease reverberated throughout the tribes.

Shuri stood near the base of the waterfall, dressed in a traditional warrior outfit with a few touches. She had smeared her face with black paint marks in a similar manner as T'Challa, with the unnatural feeling of a spear and wooden shield in hand, and most notably, she wasn't cracking jokes or disrupting the process this time around. In fact, she had only just managed to get her lip to stop quivering a few moments prior.

Ramonda stood in her usual position, putting on a strong face for the rest of the Wakandans. Never could she have imagined she would've lived to see another ceremony, certainly not one where a new generational heir would rise. But of course, this was different. Her son may have been on the brink of death two years ago, she had a sense of foreboding for the several weeks following the incident and the civil war that ensued, but even so, never could she have been ready for his passing so early on. The still grieving mother could sense herself losing to the dark thoughts, but fortunately in that moment, her attention was drawn away to the base of the falls. The ceremonial speaker—an older woman who appeared jaded by the recent events that took place—was ready to begin.

The drumming and chants in Xhosa stopped, and what was left of the Wakandan tribes stood respectfully at attention. "We are gathered here today," the speaker began, observantly looking at the tribes up and down. "not to mourn, but to honor the memory of our fallen with the crowning of a new ruler."

"I am tasked to bestow the mantle of the Black Panther upon Shuri, may her brother's soul rest in the ancestral plane," the speaker continued, as respectful murmurs went in the air. "As by tradition, the mantle cannot be passed just yet however. Victory in ritual combat… will come either by yield or death. If any tribe wishes to put forth a warrior for a path to throne, the offer now stands."

The tribes all were unanimous in their decisions not to challenge. Though the throne had never been passed down by blood, they were faced with a very extraneous situation here. Wakanda could ill afford more bloodshed after losing half their warriors already. Just as the speaker was ready to crown Shuri, a chant could be heard coming from the caves. Sure enough, the Jabari tribe emerged from the opening moments later.

The blood practically drained from Ramonda's face. Shuri only had moderate training at best in terms of hand to hand combat, and that was being generous. If one of their warriors, or god forbid, M'Baku dared to challenge… she couldn't lose both her children, she simply couldn't.

M'Baku stood ramrod, taking a brief look at the scenery before turning to address the speaker. "The Jabari tribe…"

Ramonda closed her eyes. Shuri had a fierce look of anger on her face, prepared for a fight.

"… will not be challenging today." Gasps of surprise spread throughout the tribes. Though M'Baku had been on good terms with T'Challa, the memory of the Jabari leader voicing his displeasure towards Shuri during T'Challa's coronation had not been forgotten. His announcement caught them off guard given that the throne was quite literally there for the taking.

M'Baku chuckled at the rampant confusion. "We simply came here to honour the passing of the Black Panther mantle," he stated before turning to Ramonda. "Your son has done more for us than all rulers of the past centuries. I respected him, now I am paying it forward."

Shuri sported a relieved smile, taking solace in the fact she wouldn't have to engage in combat. The speaker addressed her and the tribes. "Very well. I now present to you… Queen Shuri, the Black Panther!"

Exhilarating cheers and smiles spread quickly with roars of approval, and while Shuri wasn't looking forward to the burdens that came with being queen, she could at least attempt to enjoy the moment without the thought of her brother's death looming over him. So she smiled through it all, especially once the tooth necklace was hung around her neck. She turned to face each tribe leader in thanks, eye contact lingering when she got to M'Baku, who had become one of T'Challa's higher confidents recently. The smile he gave her was earnest, confident, and reassuring all at the same time, and when she realized this look was being mirrored with the other warriors there, Shuri suddenly didn't feel so daunted with the responsibilities thrusted upon her now, at least for the moment.

Maybe she could do this.

* * *

Navigating the hallways of this vast Wakandan building was a chore for Tony, but eventually he was able to get his hands on a satellite phone with the help of some technicians, the skeleton crew still working.

Flopping down onto a decorated couch, Tony hesitated for only the slightest of instances before inputting the digits. After all, it was _Pepper_ he was calling for crying out loud, not a fugitive in Steve Rogers who he hadn't been on speaking terms with. The call was picked up on the third ring, each successive one causing his heartbeat to spike.

"Hello?" she sounded tentative, likely due to the fact she had apparently bunkered down in one of Stark Industries' safe rooms for maybe a good day or so after what Thanos had done.

Still, her voice was all he needed to hear. "Pe-Pepper, it's—" he started.

"Oh my god, _Tony?_ Tony, are you okay? They—" her voice broke and Tony wished he could reach over and just hold her right that instant. "They said you were stabbed, and I… the whole day I've been on edge, just waiting…"

"I know, Pepper, and I'm sorry for making you worry like that. But they fixed me up, and I'm okay now."

"God… all this and it's hasn't even been two days. How'd you heal so fast?"

"Wakanda, its technology is even more impressive than advertised. Just amazing," Tony said with a slight shake of his head. "But enough about me, how are you doing? Is everything… okay?"

He could almost hear her rolling her eyes at the question. "First, a wizard comes to you with some sparklers and asks you to save the universe, then you head into space, and next thing I know, people are fading away right in front of me. How do you _think_ I'm doing?"

She didn't really sound mad, more like having come to terms with what had happened. Tony could sense the fire in her though, and judging from her tone, the ripened seeds of a subsequent argument were planted with those words. "You're right, bad question. How's everyone else holding up?"

"Happy's... gone," Tony's heart ached at her confirming his suspicions regarding his longtime bodyguard. "I gave whoever's left of our workers a leave of absence until further notice. Not that I needed to since everyone bailed on their jobs when the panic settled in."

He was about to offer useless condolences, a formality at this point, when Pepper continued. "Tony, we—I need you here. And I know it's a big part of you, but this hero complex of yours…" she spoke with pure raw emotion weighing on her. "You'll do everything you can to protect people, and there's a part of me that'll always appreciate it… But what happens on the one day you don't come back?"

Pepper was on the verge of hysterics after turning the conversation in a completely different direction. Tony knew there would no dissuading her, still he tried anyway. "Pepper…"

"It almost happened yesterday! No one knew where you were Tony, everyone took you for dead on an alien spaceship. I… I just can't take it. If we're going to take the next step…" her voice broke again.

In the pause that followed, Tony was very meticulous in the selection of his next words. What Pepper had said resonated strongly with him, but in spite of that, he had still gone on his 'one-way ticket' aboard the flying donut to try and stop Thanos, hadn't he? If he lost his life, well then so be it if it meant the majority would live. _Not that I was given much of a choice,_ the bitter thought entered his mind as he recalled the memory of the bargain to save his life. Thinking forward, the prospect of settling down with Pepper and maybe even starting a family was certainly enticing, but could he really just retire the hero mantle altogether, give up being Iron Man, a staple of his identity to do so? He had already tried once, but there was always that constant tug, the feeling that he could be more. Sitting on the sidelines just wasn't his forte.

For Pepper though, it would be worth it… he believed it, he had to.

"You know what, I completely agree," Tony said, his voice finally finding him. "I can't lose you either, and I know I've said it before, but if it's between the suit and you, I'll always choose you. Simple."

"Tony… I want to believe you, I really do, but what happens during the next another world ending event? Will you really be able to turn away?"

Tony hesitated for the briefest of moments, not wanting to make a promise he couldn't keep. "I'll think of something. Unmanned suits, drones, maybe work out a system with FRIDAY. I'm gonna commit though Pepper, I promise," he vowed, before lowering his voice to almost a hushed whisper. "When I got stabbed, all I could think of was how I failed everyone, how I failed _you._ And I knew how quick life could come and go, but to go through that myself… you're never truly ready for it."

Pepper remained silent, likely brooding in thought at what he had said. Tony took the opportunity to push forward. "I'll come home soon Pepper, don't worry. Just hold out a little longer for me, okay?"

"Okay," the word came out laced with a flurry of emotion that made Tony's heart melt.

"We'll get through this Pepper. _Together._ I promise," Tony said with all the conviction he could muster.

"We will," she replied softly.

They exchanged goodbyes and more reassurances before Tony finally had the will to hang up, his mind in a much better place than prior to the conversation. Hearing Pepper's voice was just what he needed, but with the new question of whether he would truly give up being Iron Man… the answer would reveal itself in time. Thanos made everyone else he fought pale in comparison, and nothing would measure up to the destruction and chaos he caused. He doubted any extraterrestrial would even be interested in taking over Earth a la Loki in the universe's current state, so that left internal threats. As for those, it seemed that the world was constantly expanding on superpowered beings, maybe someone else could handle it. Maybe he could just retire and live out the rest of his life with some semblance of peace in mind. But the feeling of failure, it would always weigh on him, so much so that he wondered in the moment, if he would even hesitate at a chance for redemption in battle.

Regardless, any decision he made about the issue would have to be concise and well thought out. He has time though, right?

* * *

 **Thanks for reading everyone! Apologies if this chapter seems too fillery and dialogue heavy, I'm really just trying to set things up for future chapters, hopefully it all goes as planned. And yes, I lied, Rocket wasn't in this chapter, he'll definitely be in the next one though for those of you who read these messages. It's honestly hard for me to write these heart-to-heart talks because we don't see too many of them in the MCU, so it's hard for me to gauge if everyone is in character or not, but hey I do my best anyway.**

 **Be sure to review, rate, follow, fav, and all that good stuff if you're enjoying the content! Sorry this chapter came out pretty late, I chalk it up to some lack of motivation (my mind's on future chapters) and juggling responsibilities like school in my life.**

 **Until next time faithful readers,**

 **-BasketballIsFun**


	9. Tense Times

"Thor! Thor!"

The Asgardian turned his head towards the voice, discovering a somewhat disheveled Bruce Banner running to him. The scientist took a moment to catch his breath, Thor watching him with the slightest of smiles cracking his face. Still, the meaning behind his rushing to greet him was not lost upon Thor. What could have possibly happened in the mere hours that he had absented himself from the team?

"Took a while… to find you," Bruce half wheezed in between breaths before fully regaining his composure. "Hey, you missed the meeting we had with Tony—Tony's awake by the way—so before anything else, you gotta take this comms device so we can keep you in the loop."

Thor fiddled with the earpiece in his hand, eventually jamming it square into his right ear. "Thanks Bruce." So far, the timid scientist had been the most approachable of all the Avengers, though he chalked up their connection up to their adventures on Sakaar and witnessing Ragnarok. But the others? Thor suspected that this 'Civil War' he heard tidbits from dug deeper than he had expected, but then again, it had hardly even been over a day since their failure against Thanos. There was no going back to that team camaraderie they had before Ultron. In fact, Thor suspected it died off the instant Ultron was created.

 _Midgardians, everything's so temporary with them._ That was what intrigued Thor about Earth in the first place: The way their lives came and went and how they looked to make strides in such a short time. Even though Thor would outlive them all by at least a good couple of millennia, it was truly beautiful to see the progress being made through generations. Unfortunately, he had forgotten about the tediousness of politics, stagnation, conflict, and all the other plagues that could often consume humanity.

"… just wanted to give you an update. Steve, Nat, and Rhodey went off to the UN, you remember them talking about that plan, right?" Bruce had continued speaking while Thor was lost in his thoughts, and it took a moment to process what he had just said.

He gave a nod. "Yes, I do, but I thought Nat wasn't going," he replied.

"Changed her mind last minute," he said simply with a shrug, which wasn't really all that shocking to Thor. The woman certainly had her ways.

A question popped up in his mind then, one he wasn't sure he wanted the answer to. "This might not be my place to ask," Thor began before lowering his voice, "but have you and Nat well, 'reconnected' yet?"

Bruce let out a slight huff of relief at the question, having expected Thor to ask him something much more daunting. His relationship issues, or lack thereof at the moment, he didn't really mind discussing that. Well, at least not for an extended period of time. "We, uh, had a few moments here and there, but nothing really clicked, you know? Maybe it's like you said earlier, Hulk is the fire, and like it or not, he's a part of me, or another me, I guess."

"I-I didn't really… mean that when I said it on Sakaar," Thor explained awkwardly. "It was just a ploy to draw out the Hulk."

"Yeah I know, but maybe there's some meaning behind it. What happened with me and Nat, I don't think we're going to be reconnecting anytime soon, it's just a part of my past that's… lingering for now."

Thor nodded, not wanting to press him any further. The conversation only reminded him once more of how quickly things could change. "Any other news you wanted to bring me?"

Bruce was surprised, but also relieved at the change of topic, so much so that he lost his train of thought for a moment. "Oh… uh, right. Right. Tony's up and about, yeah, though I think he's leaving soon, Pepper's been worried for him."

"Stark's leaving already? This quickly?" Thor asked in a bit of disbelief.

"Surprised me too. He hasn't really tried to tinker with any of the vibranium here, which let me tell you, it's even better than they advertised. Having access to the stuff they have here is like giving a kid the keys to Disneyland for a guy like Tony. Though for him, I guess family should come first, especially in a time like this."

"Tony had a child while we were gone?"

"No, I meant, uh, he and Pepper are finally tying the knot," Bruce elaborated.

"Oh," Thor said dumbly, his mind retreating to the night he and Tony had compared girlfriends. How far their relationships had diverged from that moment on. "I suppose it was only a matter of time."

"Yeah," Bruce replied, a silence hanging in the air before he continued. "Hey, can I ask you a question?" he asked, Thor giving a nod as he prepared himself for his turn in the relationship inquiries.

"How'd you get that other eye?" Thor wanted to laugh at the simplicity of the question, at least this would be something he could answer easily.

"Well, Rocket had a spare one, so he—"

"Rocket? You mean the raccoon?" Bruce asked, almost incredulous.

"Yes, that's him."

"Huh, he must have some sort of body part fetish. He already tried stealing some prosthetics from the lab," Bruce recalled, chuckling slightly before he remembered the sight he had seen while running to Thor. "But Thor… I think he's leaving too."

"He's what?!" Thor couldn't believe this. Just when he thought maybe he could salvage some friends, they begin to disperse like birds fleeing a nest.

"Yeah, saw him loading some supplies onto the ship on my way here. That, uh, blue cyborg lady was with him too. I don't think they're gonna be here much longer, no one can get through to them."

"… Why is he leaving?" Thor rested a hand on his forehead in worry.

"No one knows. You're the only one here who seems to be on good terms with him, at least from what I can tell."

"I should…" Thor trailed off, pondering if it was even worth trying to convince Rocket and Nebula otherwise of their decision.

"Go," Banner said resolutely as he noticed Thor's hesitation. "If nothing else, just find out why he's leaving. I'll hold down the fort here." He motioned towards the Asgard and Sakaarian refugees.

Thor smiled gratefully. "You're a good friend, Banner."

A nod of thanks was Bruce's response in return, along with a slight smile of his own. With the matter settled, Thor called Stormbreaker to him, careful not to damage any of the infrastructure potentially in its path. He flew in the air once more, scanning the area for the spacecraft he had seen docked on the Wakandan landing port. Sure enough, as he got closer, he noticed the ship with Rocket on the exit ramp, hauling away what appeared to be some pilfered vibranium.

"Rocket! What are you doing?"

The raccoon shot a glance at Thor, making his way down to level ground so they could talk. "What does it look like to ya, Thor? I'm leaving this bluey ass planet."

"But why? Rocket, we… we need you here," Thor managed to sputter out, trying to maintain his composure.

"Do ya? The humies here haven't exactly been the most welcoming, though I'll give em credit for their tech being more impressive than I expected," Rocket motioned to the vibranium resting on the foot of the ramp.

"I know things don't seem good right now," Thor said, the obvious statement earning him a snort from Rocket. "They're in grief right now though. We all are. And once we get past that, you'll be able to see what makes us Earth's mightiest heroes."

"Yeah? Hmm, I think I'll bet against that. Maybe when they swallow their egos, sure."

"Sometimes grief can also cloud your own judgement," Rocket's head snapped up at those words, the raccoon narrowing his eyes slightly. "I just need to know, Rocket: Why? Why leave now? I know the universe is vast and full of beings more powerful than the people here, but you won't find any team more united towards a common goal right now."

"Wasn't your _team_ broken up until now when Thanos showed up, Thor? Really united there," Rocket commented snarkily. "And to answer your question, I'm leaving to kill Thanos, obviously. After all, what else do I have to lose at this point?"

Thor froze as his own words were thrown back at him. Still, he wasn't going to give up yet in getting through to a dead set Rocket. "Please Rocket, I ask you to reconsider. We can work this out, find a—"

"Will we?!" Rocket shouted, the inevitable outburst finally surfacing. "I mean, all your d'ast Avenger friends ain't even avenging properly. Instead, it's all about 'regrouping', living to fight another day. Which is great and all, but I can't do that! How do you _move on_ , _regroup_ from the shit we saw? Way I see it, there's only one way to do this!"

"Avenging isn't just about charging into battle," Thor stated calmly, thinking back to his own experiences, back when he wanted nothing more than to subjugate all his enemies with his power. Naturally, the most recent memory of invading Jotunheim in such a premeditated fashion flashed to the forefront of his mind.

"Every day was a battle until I became part of the Guardians," Rocket said, this time quietly before a look of anguish passed on his face. "Without em, there's nothing else I _can_ do other than avenge em with Thanos's head!"

"I understand where you're coming from," Thor agreed, doing whatever he could to get Rocket away from the emotional precipice he was on. "But to defeat Thanos, we need to work together as a team, form a plan. It will take time, Rocket. We'll have to locate him first, and we can't just charge into the fight once we do. And I know you're a capable fighter in your own right, but we need a strategy first."

This time, Rocket actually took a moment to consider the words before shooting the idea down. "I like you Thor, really, and I like your plan for the most part too. But the thing I can't stand is all the waiting. How long until we actually put it into action? A month? Years from now? Never?" he said heatedly, before taking a breath. "I can't just sit on my paws and actually give a damn about what happens to Earth like your friends, Thor. At least this way I can say I tried."

Thor opened his mouth to reiterate to Rocket just how much of a suicide mission his quest to kill Thanos almost singlehandedly would be, but Nebula intervened at the worst possible time, poking her head out of the ship's entrance.

"Rocket, ship's supplies are fully stocked and engines are operational," she stated plainly.

"Great, let's get out of this dump!" Rocket proclaimed.

"Rocket, wait!" Thor shouted before he could rush away towards the entry ramp. Rocket gave him a look as if to say, 'Just say it already'.

"If you ever need anything, you know where to find me," Thor held out his hand to shake. Rocket hesitated, possibly because he wasn't familiar with the gesture like Thor had been when he first arrived on Earth, but more likely because he hadn't argued further on the subject of him leaving. After a few seconds of that, Rocket extended his paw and shook rather loosely.

"Thanks," he said gruffly, doing his best to avoid letting his emotions show. Thor was probably the best friend he had now and probably would ever have going forward, not that he would admit that. It pained him to leave with the antagonistic Nebula of all people, but it was simply a matter of not belonging. Even if Quill had roots here, he was in no way grounded to the blue planet whatsoever. His first exchanges with other Terrans outside of battle likely made sure of that.

As the ramp to the ship folded up and Rocket disappeared inside, Thor sighed. _Another two allies gone._ He watched as the ship flew up out of the horizon, squinting as hard as he could with his enhanced eyesight until he couldn't see it any longer. Still, he tried to remain optimistic. Their chances of actually finding Thanos and having their death wish be granted were slim to none.

They would be back, he was sure of it.

* * *

"Well, here we are. Good ol' Geneva."

Steve startled awake from his quick power nap to find Rhodey craning his head towards him and Natasha from the cockpit. The latter was much more attentive than him, a steely determination already evident in her eyes for what was to come.

"You guys ever visited before?" Rhodey was speaking again in an attempt to lighten the tension for the imminent meeting.

"Think I might've ran an ops mission here once or twice," Nat said casually, though Steve remained brooding in thought as opposed to answering.

A few more lighthearted pleasantries were exchanged between the two, but he tuned it out, still concerned about how the world would react to his first public appearance in two years. And as a fugitive, nonetheless.

As they landed the Quinjet in an airport a few miles away from the UN building, Steve was already making plans for a potential escape route if need be. The walk was sobering, though the three of them still wore their traditional hats-and-sunglasses disguise as a precaution.

It took only a half hour for them to reach the building, even with Rhodey's handicap deterring their speed slightly. At the entrance, there was a long driveway spanning for a good quarter mile or so, flags bunched up on both sides, waving high. It felt like an eternity since Steve had donned one with so much pride and patriotism, which it may as well have been considering how he had only truly fought for his country back in World War II. His thoughts then shifted to words buried deep in his mind up until this point, ones uttered by his enemy Red Skull at the time, the one who represented everything he stood against.

 _I have seen the future, Captain. There are no flags._

It was scary how much foresight the totalitarian had. He had scoffed at the idea in the heat of battle at the time naturally, but the words resonated with him now. With time, anything pure and good could be molded into something far more corrupt, even with the best of intentions. Steve understood now that it wasn't just black and white, fighting with a nation's colours. Sometimes you had to cut off the head of the snake before the plague infected an entire colony, like he did with SHIELD.

They were escorted inside by a few official looking peacekeepers who didn't have orders to detain them immediately, much to Steve's surprise. Detouring past the visitors' section of the building, they found themselves inside the more official part of the UN, guards stationed at practically every corner. What Steve saw next actually made him freeze though.

There, standing next to Agent Everett K. Ross, was Sharon Carter. Steve did his best to steady himself and the surging tingle in his heart as they approached. Ross waved the guards away, nodding at the three of them by way of greeting.

"It's been a while since we've seen you guys," Ross started, raising a brow slightly at the two fugitives.

"They're here now, Ross. That's what matters," Rhodey emphasized, trying to remain diplomatic while vouching for them.

The agent simply smiled politely. "Of course, Colonel Rhodes. That's why we granted you this meeting. The world needs some sense of unity in a time like this."

"Really?" Natasha responded in a slightly mocking tone. "Interesting to see you change your tune now."

Steve quickly interjected before Ross could potentially respond, although his face showed no visible signs of him being upset. He probably expected such words. "What time's the meeting?" he inquired.

"Glad you asked. About a half hour from now," Ross replied cordially.

"Shall we get going then?" Rhodey asked before Nat could get another word in.

"Absolutely. Though as for preparations, all you three really have to do is get to your seats. So you may feel free to well, roam for a bit if you want."

At that, Ross turned around and headed into the conference room, while Natasha wandered to another corridor of the building. Rhodey sighed in resignation at this, nodding wearily towards Steve.

"I'm gonna keep an eye on her, make sure she doesn't piss off someone else," he said. "You two just stay here."

He took off then, leaving only Steve and Sharon left standing near the door. For a minute, neither one of them spoke, only taking in each other's presence, Steve struggling to keep his composure. It had been brief and two years ago, but there had always been a somewhat unspoken attraction between them, mild at first but steadily rising. The thing that frightened him was that it may have not even reached its peak yet, _if_ that was what they wanted.

"Hi," she finally said.

"Hi," he said back.

"You forgot to shave."

"You're still working as an agent." Steve was referring to when she had gotten the fugitives their equipment out of custody, which they both thought at the time would certainly cost Sharon her job.

"I cover my tracks well," she replied with a nod.

"Who got blamed for it?" He wasn't sure why he was asking, probably because they didn't have much else to discuss. They went as the conversation flowed.

"I don't know. Do _you_ know what happened two days ago?"

"Always been in the thick of things, Sharon, you know that."

"As expected," she said with a hint of smile crossing her face. "Are you gonna tell me the why's and how's of it all, or is it just…"

"One of those things," he finished for her.

"Yeah."

That was the conversation. They caught up with one another quickly, hardly even missing a beat. No one would be able to tell they hadn't had contact for the past two years. There were some laughs like when Steve told the story of the worst hotel he and the other rogues came to, one where the TV had been infested with bullet ants. There were some playful gestures and flirting mixed in there as well, such as when Steve withheld details regarding who had been the loudest snorer, earning him a light smack on the arm. Or when Sharon had lamented her 'boring' daily routine at the CIA in comparison to Steve's 'thrillers' on the run, leading to him giving her a consolatory pat on the shoulder.

They had certainly enjoyed each other's company, even when discussing the more serious, sensitive topics. Both were attentive and willing to hear the other out. By the time Steve had to convene for the meeting, there was a certain charge in the air that they could both sense. Though the impulse was there, neither of them acted on it in the moment, maybe feeling it was a bit _too_ soon.

Even so, as Steve walked into the conference room, looking back at Sharon momentarily to flash a smile of appreciation that she mirrored, he felt content for the moment. The tingle in his heart had certainly bloomed in the past half hour, perhaps into something more.

And that wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

* * *

The trek along the vast, orange tinted land created by the Soul Stone was arduous, time-consuming, a bit tedious at times, mind-numbingly boring, and just about every other negative verb Dr. Stephen Strange could think of to sum it up. Though it was necessary based off the brief glimpse of the future he had seen up to this point, it didn't mean he had to like it. He hadn't liked a lot of the things he had to orchestrate into place to ensure the winning scenario, and was close to cracking himself once it came down to micromanaging all the details.

He supposed it was only inevitable before he broke; after all, he was only human.

Gamora must've noticed the change in his demeanour, either that or she used that intuition of hers again to read between the lines. She stopped walking abruptly once they passed what Strange thought was at least their thirty-thousandth identical tree by that point, casting a look of concern in his direction. He motioned for her to continue moving onward, but she remained firm on her stance regarding the situation.

"Why are you stopping?" Strange asked, shooting her a puzzled look.

" _We're_ stopping because you don't know where we're going," the Zehoberei retorted.

"Still reading me like a book, huh?"

"If you knew where we were going, you would've used one of your portals to take us there already," she pointed out.

"I told you, Gamora, it isn't that simple. Timing is everything here," Strange wouldn't concede to her argument yet, but he could tell it was hers to lose. Still, he wasn't going to back down. "I thought you were in full agreement with my plan when I explained to you."

"I was, until it became clear you're beginning to doubt that plan yourself. You said you only caught glimpses of the future before we came back," she stated, Strange reaffirming this with a nod.

"Yes, I did. What are you getting at?"

"I'm not…" she sighed to air out her frustration. "I just want to be sure. If everything has to go exactly as you planned for even a chance to win, we can't have any uncertainty."

"Well, what do you propose we do then, Gamora? Sit here and wait for everything to fall into place?" Strange fired back.

"You know that's not what I meant," she replied with a frown.

"Please do elaborate, by all means." There was a slight edge to his words.

"It's just that without the stone, how do you truly know we're on the right path?"

He was fed up to the bones with this question, everyone had pestered him for details and outright questioned his reluctance to share on Titan, but not quite to this degree. It was enough for him to break character for once. "Well, maybe we aren't! Maybe we're all screwed because this timeline's already diverged from the winning one! Maybe we should just give up now, what's the point in trying?!" Strange shouted, finally releasing the whirlwind of frustration and emotion that had been building up for so long. He slumped down onto the plain grass of the meadow they had traversed to, dejected with his feelings on their current dilemma well out into the open for the first time.

Gamora crouched down to sit beside him, and fortunately he had enough self restraint in that moment to avoid doing something irrational. They simply stared in silence at the seemingly never ending, lush meadow that stretched for likely beyond what the mind could comprehend. It was a clever tactic by Gamora to get him to calm down at the beautiful sight before she started speaking again.

"I'm sorry, that was… cruel of me to question you like that. I knew you were already in some anguish—the Soul Stone made sure of that—and I still pressed you for answers I knew you didn't have."

The silence teetered onwards for a bit, until Strange finally uttered one word: "Risk."

"Huh?" Gamora flashed him a confused look.

"Risk, Gamora. We can't always rely on a mystical artifact of power in order to succeed. Life is all about taking risks. Chances. Calculated risks based off what you already know. However, I believe that our current case involves little to no risk."

"What are you saying? No risk?"

"It's simple. We can't escape from here on our own, someone from the living world will have to do that. Nothing we do here will change the timing of that event. We just have to gather everyone we need before that happens, so when we do it doesn't matter, so long as it's before a rescue attempt is made."

Now Gamora seemed convinced of his word, though Strange opted to reiterate his point in a different manner, just to fully get it across. "Think of it like this: The Soul Stone is like a river, what we do here would be like throwing rocks into the river. The current is disturbed by a ripple, but it soon returns to its natural state. What happens in the real world, that's the waterfall pouring into the river, a constant that can be manipulated and have a permanent effect on the river."

Gamora shot him a half-hearted questioning look, but didn't argue with Strange's—well, strange—example. It probably would've made more sense to Terrans, she supposed.

"Shall we, then?" the phrase still felt slightly foreign to Gamora, but it must've been the right one in this case, because Strange nodded and took her hand to get up.

"Yes, we ought to leave. Better to find everyone now before we find out the rescue attempt is happening earlier than I anticipated. Come on."

However, before they continued their trek, Strange looked awkwardly to Gamora, averting his eyes when she met them. "I just want to say… sorry for my outburst back there. I know you were only concerned, and rightfully so. We just started off on the wrong foot, so… bygones?"

"What?" Gamora still shook Strange's hand, although whatever 'bygones' were still eluded her.

"Never mind. Let's just start over, actually work together this time. It'll be important down the road."

"Did you see that in the future?" she inquired, raising an eyebrow.

"No, just a feeling."

* * *

 **Thanks for reading everyone! And no, I am not a total Steve/Sharon shipper if you're wondering, though I think their relationship would be a lot better if it got more screen time in the MCU (like the deleted scenes of them in Civil War). Still, I like the pairing enough to give it some spotlight here, but I left their status together somewhat ambiguous for future chapters to come. Mainly because I like to keep you guys on your toes, and also because I barely even plan two chapters ahead nowadays so I don't want to write myself into a corner. :P**

 **More Soul Stone shenanigans here, these appearances from Strange and Gamora won't be quite as frequent at least for a few more chapters as it's mainly more of the same stuff (searching for souls) once we check in with them. I'm gonna be honest, this part will probably be the toughest for me to write for this fic, mainly because of all the characters and clashing personalities interacting with one another down the road. Also, I know bygones was a word dubbed by Shakespeare in the 1600's, but I'm gonna assume Quill didn't learn it in his brief time on Earth and that even if he did, it was a word he never adopted into his vocabulary once he got into space.**

 **Anyway, if you've read this far, appreciate it! Thanks for the support on this story guys, any and all reviews, comments, and follows/favs mean a lot to me! Also glad to say this story's hit 3,000 views too! :D**

 **Adios fellow avid Fanfic readers, may the everlasting legacy of Stan Lee (R.I.P) carry you forward,**

 **-BasketballIsFun**


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